Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave
by Storywriter55
Summary: Lies and deception. Everybody has something to hide, whether it be inconsequential or with far-reaching consequences. Part of the Milestones series.
1. Chapter 1

8.8 years

**Chapter 1**

**Prologue**

Lies, fibs, half-truths, disinformation, falsehoods, inaccuracies, deceit, deflections, deceptions.

Who hasn't covered up some unfortunate or embarrassing situation by misrepresenting the facts or simply leaving out some vital piece of information? We can kid ourselves by calling them harmless little white lies - but is it always the case?

Often, it's just more convenient or easier not to tell the whole truth or to simply make up an alternate version of facts than to have to explain the details of something we'd just rather not share.

Harmless?

Sometimes.

Not always.

Honesty and integrity are at the centre of most of our relationships. So what happens to those fragile connections when we deviate from the truth and upset the delicate balance of trust which often takes so long to build and to maintain? Can the trust always be rebuilt? Or are there casualties along the way?

Some fibs may be truly harmless - like telling a friend her butt looks fine in that pair of pants or endeavoring to hold back the details of a surprise party we're planning for a loved one. But where is that fine line? The one between truth and lie, the one between honesty and deception – the one that, if and when it's crossed, will shatter or irreparably damage that delicate balance of trust in our relationships with the ones we love.

We might be forgiven to hold back something that might hurt someone else but what about those lies that only serve to protect ourselves, our image, the way others will think of us or those deceptions that we profit from directly without a second thought as to how they might hurt someone else. We can always rationalize telling a lie – everyone can – and if you think about it long enough, you can always find a way to convince yourself that it's best this way...

...which leads to the worse kind of lies – the ones we tell ourselves.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Peter**

Peter Burke loved his job and he loved his wife.

His life had two very distinct and differing facets. Peter had seen a lot of the brutality and ugliness in the world throughout the years in his job as Special Agent for the White Collar Division of the FBI's New York field office - where he'd been employed for over twenty five years. He'd dealt with criminals, some 'soft' who could be rehabilitated over time and others, hard core who would kill you just as soon as look at you and he'd learned that trust had to be earned slowly over time. Peter Burke did not trust easily; it took a long time before he would let someone into his inner circle. However, he thought of himself as a very trustworthy and honest man always striving to do the 'right' thing.

Sure, he'd sometimes allowed himself to deviate from the straight and narrow over the years but if the end result was a fair and ethical outcome, he had learned to be a little more flexible – especially since Neal Caffrey had made an appearance in his life. Although nowadays Neal was a trusted and valuable friend, it hadn't always been that way. For years, he had been leery of the ex-conman, his motivations and machinations. But the ex-CI was a good man deep down and Peter had ventured into those gray areas on more occasions than he cared to remember throughout the years – always with the justification that the end result was for the greater good.

Overall, Peter thought of himself as a man of principle and he conducted himself with integrity and rectitude.

Thankfully in contrast to his work live, when it came to the sanctity of his home, Peter saw nothing but beauty and goodness. His relationship with his wife was rock solid and it had always been based on mutual trust and respect. Elizabeth Burke was an amazing woman and a terrific wife – she'd supported Peter through everything he'd ever been through and he shared everything with El. Well, almost everything. He had been known to withhold some of the details of an operation when he thought it would cause her to worry. But that wasn't really 'lying' that was just loving her so much he didn't want to cause her any concern or anxiety.

Or so he told himself.

On this November morning, they sat having breakfast as he prepared to go into the office. They had just started on a big case: the Sullivans, a mob family from Miami, had recently been spotted in New York and the Bureau had had them under surveillance for the past few weeks. They traded in drugs mostly but they had been known to finance their activities through the fencing of stolen art which landed their activities straight in Peter's sandbox. Although there was no proof they were directly involved in any heists, they seemed to be smack dab in the middle of some unresolved thefts and some heavy duty fencing of valuable pieces from which they were clearly benefitting.

Peter sipped on his coffee and looked over at El, concentrated on making notes to prepare for her upcoming day at Burke Premiere Events. God, how he loved her – every part of her: the business woman, the homemaker, the loving wife. Elizabeth was definitely the coordinator (boss?) at home: she took care of meals, their social calendar, she kept tabs on upcoming birthdays and anniversaries and somehow she made everything look smooth and painless. He continued to stare, unbeknownst to his wife as she finally perked up, suddenly remembering to remind Peter of the important job she had tasked him with.

'Oh, honey! You didn't forget about dropping my ring off at the jewelers, right?' she said as the thought crept back into her mind – among many other preoccupations, it seemed.

'Got it right here' said Peter as he tapped his jacket pocket

'And find out how long it'll take before I can have it back; I feel so lost without it' she added, as she touched her naked ring finger and frowned

She hadn't had her wedding ring cleaned since the day Peter had put it on her finger over twenty years before. It was high time to have the diamond cleaned and polished.

Peter returned to his thoughts. Maybe he was going to need Neal on this case, after all. Although his best friend worked full time as an art authenticator at Finch and Johns, a large insurance company, he still dabbled in some high profile cases at the Bureau when summoned – especially if art was involved. Neal still loved that connection, particularly if he got the chance to go undercover, something that still got his blood pumping. Peter would have to give him a call and see if he could get some time off from work to come and play with the Feds; Neal's expertise would be welcome on this case.

El and Peter parted ways and the G-man made his way to the office, stopping for coffee on the way. He had fond memories of all those years he and Neal were joined at the hip, their numerous walks to the office holding a cup of overpriced coffee in their hands as they meandered through the streets of Manhattan. He'd loved those years although he was painfully aware that they were difficult ones for his friend who had struggled to decide if he was a con or a man. Peter smiled as he recalled his all important role in getting Neal to settle down to a life as a loving husband and father and law-abiding citizen of the world.

He arrived to find Jones and Diana already in the conference room, ready to roll on the case.

'Anything new on the Sullivan case?' asked Peter as he came in and took a seat at the head of the table

'Yeah, Shawn Sullivan was observed at a meet in the Bronx last night' said Jones as he flashed some photographs of two men making some sort of exchange

'The other man is Rusty Jerome' volunteered Diana

'Ah, yes. Rusty – an old associate of Mozzie's – haven't seen him around for a while' said Peter as he glanced at the screen

'He's been keeping a low profile' agreed Diana

'But he's obviously taking something from Sullivan and handing him an envelope' said Jones as he continued with the series of pictures of the pair making the un-saintly exchange.

'Looks like a pretty small item' observed Peter

'Valuable doesn't necessarily mean large' cautioned Diana as everyone nodded in agreement

'Look, I've been wondering about bringing Neal in on this one. What do you think?' Peter asked as he looked at the members of his team assembled around the conference table

'We could sure use his expertise' agreed Jones 'He might know about pieces floating out there that we could tie back to the Sullivans'

Peter nodded – his thoughts exactly.

'I'll give him a call later and see if he thinks he can get a few weeks off from Finch and Johns. He's usually up for a challenge' said Peter, rising to return to his office

'In the meantime, keep up the surveillance and keep me posted' he added, walking away

Peter glanced at his watch, realizing it was almost lunchtime and he had a fleeting thought for El as he spotted the lunch she'd lovingly prepared for him, sitting on his desk. Oh, that deviled ham sandwich was going to taste good, he thought. He suddenly remembered the errand he needed to run for his wife; the jeweler was just a block over and he decided he'd make a mad dash and eat when he got back.

'Be back in half an hour' he called out to his secretary on the way out

It was a cool November day but the sun was out and Peter pulled up the collar on his jacket to keep the wind out as he began the short trek over to Johnsons' Jewelry. It was there that he'd bought all of El's jewelry gifts over the years, the silver bracelet he got her for their tenth wedding anniversary, the pearls he got her for her birthday a few years back, the beautiful vintage pin he'd given her last Christmas.

'Mr. Burke, how are you?' asked the young man behind the counter

He was one of the sons and although Peter recognized him immediately, he couldn't for the life of him remember his name. Henry Johnson Sr. was getting on in age and although he still made frequent appearances at his store, he'd entrusted the day to day operations to his three sons and Peter knew all three of them by sight.

He hated not being able to greet people by name and he began to rake his brain to remember this young fellow's name – Eric? Rick? – as he began to tell him about the purpose of his visit.

The young man took out a receipt and began to write down Peter's request.

'So, basically she just wants the ring cleaned and polished' said Peter as he leaned on the counter

Brick? Ricky? It was driving him nuts; and short of coming out and just asking the guy for his name...

'Okay Mr. Burke. So cleaning the ring and polishing it. Anything else I can do for you today?' he asked as he prepared to give Peter a copy of the receipt.

'No, that's it' said Peter 'and when will that be ready... Richie?' he said triumphantly as he magically remembered the man's name

'In about a week' the man responded with a smile

'Great. Take care, then' said Peter as he prepared to leave

'Mr. Burke, aren't you forgetting something?' asked Richie Johnson

Peter looked at him, puzzled.

'The ring? It's customary to leave it here with us if you want to have it cleaned' he added with a touch of humor

'Oh, sorry' exclaimed Peter 'Guess I have too much on my mind' (like trying to remember your damn name!)

He reached into his jacket pocket for the ring, feeling around for it. He had wrapped it in tissue paper and he took the tissue out, carefully unwrapping it – but to his horror, there was no ring inside.

He glanced timidly at the young man, letting out a nervous laugh as he returned his hand to his pocket to locate the precious piece of jewelry but to no avail. He poked around his other pockets more and more frantically as he began to realize the ring was nowhere to be found. He returned to the bottom of the pocket where he'd found the tissue, turning the lining inside out and he suddenly realized there was a small rip in the lining, just big enough for a ring to fall through.

Peter could feel the blood draining from his face as he began to realize that the ring was nowhere to be found.

'I seem to have misplaced the item' he said, trying not to show the alarm he was feeling in his voice

Shit. El was going to kill him if he'd lost her beloved wedding ring. How could this possibly happen? It was right there in his pocket when he'd left the house, of that he was certain.

He sheepishly excused himself, explaining that he would be back with the item as soon as he could.

Peter walked back to the office, his mind replaying every step he'd taken since he'd put the ring in his pocket at seven o'clock that morning. Somewhere, along the way, the damn thing must have fallen out of his pocket, he realized frantically.

How was he going to tell El he'd lost the single most important piece of jewelry she owned, the token of their life together, the symbol of their love and commitment?

He'd find it – he'd find a way to find it but in the meantime, Elizabeth couldn't know it was missing.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Satchmo**

What a great life, thought the dog as he stretched out on the couch in the warm sun. What more could a dog want in life but food and water nearby, a warm place to sleep and the assurance that, eventually, your master will come home, give you all the attention you crave and take you out for your daily walk to the park.

He lived a charmed life.

Of course, there were rules he was expected to obey. And he was more than happy to play the role of dutiful family pet when his masters were around. The man, especially, was a stickler when it came to the damn rules: no peeing in the house, no slobbering water all over the kitchen, no sleeping on the couch... to name but a few. But a smart dog like Satchmo knew how to circumvent those rules and he'd learned long ago that what the man didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

The lady, the soft one, she was much more of a push-over. If he wasn't alert enough to shift his furry body off the couch when he heard the door open, she would just give him a long-suffering sigh and murmur something like: 'Satchmo! Off the couch, boy!' whereas if he slept through the man's arrival, he might be greeted by a gruff voice and an insistent shove to get him off the sofa.

For that reason, the dog always slept on the couch with one eye open; you just never knew when the humans would return or more importantly, which one of the two humans would be the first one to make an appearance.

He lazily opened his eyes, reacting to some soft muted noises coming from the street and he positioned his paws up against the back of the couch to have a look. Glancing out the living room window, he spotted the cute dog from next door out for her daily stroll. She was a pretty little poodle with wide eyes and an endearing way of sauntering along and she always gave him a nice greeting when they crossed paths on the street or at the dog park.

'Hey, cute dog girl, look up here!' he said as he barked

She gave him a cursory look as she continued on her walk with her master nudging her along.

Girls could be so standoffish, Satchmo thought, as he put his head back down on the couch, trying to look like he didn't care.

He looked around the room, bored. It must be getting late because he could see the sun starting to set and that usually meant his masters would be home shortly. He jumped off the couch, leisurely making his way over to his water bowl and he slurped noisily as the water splashed all over the kitchen floor. He ambled over to the window looking onto the back yard and saw a couple of squirrels running around. He jumped up onto the door, pulling at the sheer curtain there and let his tail wag happily behind him as he let out a few obligatory barks. After all, you had to let squirrels know who was boss – and it sure as hell wasn't them!

He continued to meander around the first floor, looking for mischief – or at least something to occupy his time. He was getting restless and he began to search for one of his toys which were usually scattered in different rooms of the house. He found his stuffed toy and gave it a few obligatory chews, shaking his head violently from side to side as he growled. That got boring rather quickly and he returned to searching around the place to see if he could find another more amusing activity to pass the time while he waited. Truth be told, he was feeling his bladder rather full and he hoped he wouldn't have to wait too much longer before he could relieve himself. Sometimes, his humans pushed their luck on that front, he pondered. They were damn lucky he had such a capacity for restraint and a good strong bladder.

He spotted his ball nearby, not the soft tennis ball but the hard plastic one, the one that made that great noise when it bounced on the wood floor. He ran excitedly towards the toy, his tail wagging. He picked up the ball between his teeth, growling happily as he went: he loved this ball, it was definitely his favorite plaything.

He continued to growl as he played, dropping the ball from time to time so he could see it bounce in front of his eyes and jumping to catch it in mid-air as it flew. This was fun, he thought, as he continued to move around the living room, bouncing up and down, his long tail wagging and hitting various items as he went. He got a good firm hold of the ball and gave his head a good strong shake, feeling it between his teeth and biting down hard. Suddenly, he felt the ball fly out of his mouth with great force and he watched with interest as it hit the wall at full speed, barely missing the bookshelf laden with books and knick knacks. He ran towards the bouncing ball, hoping to catch it in mid-flight but the ball had ideas of its own as it bounced violently off the wall, heading straight for the lamp sitting on the small coffee table by the couch.

The noise it made as the ball and lamp collided took Satchmo by surprise and he looked on, powerless as he heard the loud crash of the lamp hitting the ground in a million pieces. Now, even a dog knows that things breaking usually leads to humans getting upset so he stood, motionless for a moment as he took in the mess on the floor just by the front door where his humans would be making their entrance. His tail wasn't wagging anymore and the feeling of carefree delight he'd been experiencing a moment before disappeared instantly as he surveyed the damage.

The best solution, he realized, was to distance himself from the mess – and quickly. They would never suspect him if he was far away from the shambles when they arrived.

Satchmo tiptoed around the broken glass and made his way upstairs to his masters' bedroom where he often slept on the floor by the foot of the bed. He decided to lay low – surely, when they came home and found him sleeping innocently by the bed, he would never be suspected of having caused the unfortunate accident. In fact, it wasn't him; it was the damn ball which had a mind of its own. His only crime had been to watch helplessly as the ball had flown in the air in slow motion and collided with that unsuspecting lamp.

Regardless, he'd deny it if they accused him. Deny, deny, deny.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Liam**

Liam Caffrey was a ridiculously cute three and a half year old boy. He had fair hair (downright blond in the summer), freckles which peppered his nose and bright green eyes which were the exact same shade as his mother's.

He had a quiet intelligence; preferring to observe rather than step quickly into the fray and he tended to wait until he was asked before expressing an opinion. This was by no means a reflection of his intelligence – in fact he was very smart and astute for his age; he just preferred to lay low. He had inherited that trait from his dad who had spent a good part of his life observing others and finding out what made them tick. Unfortunately, in his younger days, his father had used that attribute to develop strategies in order to deceive others, to make them see what they desperately wanted to see.

This was by no means Liam's motivation and his dad had always marvelled at his son's innocence and the quiet way in which he watched the world go by, making up his mind as he went along.

His temperament was in direct contrast to his sister's, Hope, who was eight years old and a strong, confident young lady who had no trouble formulating an opinion on just about anything. Although her looks were all her dad's, her personality was definitely inherited from her mom – headstrong, fierce and determined.

Liam sat at a table in the playroom, next to Jayden, his best friend at preschool as they shared the Fisher Price garage and the numerous cars and trucks that had been put out for them. The boys moved the vehicles around, making various noises as they played, respectful of each other and staying out of each other's way. Liam liked Jayden because he was just like him, quiet and unassuming and he enjoyed playing side by side without having to make small talk.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Caleb Holloway – the class bully – and the kid was heading their way.

'I want to play!' said Caleb as he grabbed one of the trucks from the table and gave Liam a small shove to make room for him

'I was here first' said Liam. He knew the rules and he wasn't about to have to give up his spot for this little twerp.

'I don't care. I want the truck' the intruder said as he grabbed the toy Liam held in his hand.

'What's going on over here?' asked Miss Rosalie, their preschool teacher as she stepped into the fray

Liam looked up and his heart skipped a beat. Miss Rosalie was possibly the prettiest girl in the world and whenever she talked to him, he became tongue tied. She had pretty blue eyes and blond hair which cascaded down her back when she pulled it into a ponytail which she did most days. She was kind and sweet and helpful and Liam just loved being in her presence. Whenever Liam needed help tying his shoes or doing up his pants after using the washroom, she would be there to lend a hand.

Of course, he hadn't realized that Miss Rosalie was Mrs. Rosalie, a married woman who had two children of her own and a really handsome husband – but as far as fantasies went, she was all the little boy needed.

'I want to play' repeated Caleb loudly

'Well, see the little pictogram on the table. This play area is for two friends. Who was here first?' she asked, patiently

'I was' lied Caleb

'I thought I saw you playing at the art table less than a minute ago' said Miss Rosalie. She was no fool.

Caleb looked away, embarrassed to be caught in the lie.

'When Jayden and Liam are finished, you can have a turn with the cars and trucks' she concluded as she took the young boy's hand and led him away

Liam looked at Miss Rosalie as she walked away, her blond hair cascading over her shoulders and his mouth dropped open, staying that way as he continued to gawk. She always knew what to do; she was perfect!

By the time snack time wrapped up, Miss Rosalie invited everyone to get dressed to play outside for a little while before they were picked up by their parents. Liam and Jayden headed for their cubbies getting out their jackets and hats. It was November and the weather was cool for playing outside if you weren't dressed accordingly. Liam could see Caleb giving him the stink eye, no doubt still angry about the earlier incident and he turned away, attempting to zip up his jacket - which was hard to do with his short little three year old fingers.

'Need help, sweetie?' Miss Rosalie asked as she appeared out of nowhere

Liam nodded, a vacant look on his face. Whenever she came near him, he would inevitably stare and become tongue tied.

The group of children made their way out to the playground, filled with tricycles and sundry sand toys and Caleb followed Liam to a corner of the yard where young Caffrey was attempting to choose a toy from the large bin laid out for the group of preschoolers.

'My daddy says your daddy is a bad man and he robbed a museum' said Caleb, viciously as he provoked Liam

'That's not true!' said Liam, anger rising inside him

Caleb continued going for the jugular. When you were three years old, words stung and he'd heard his parents discussing Liam's dad at dinner, his previous crimes and the fact that he'd been in prison.

'Yes it is. And he went to jail!' he spat out, angrily

Liam felt the rage bubbling inside him and before he knew what hit him, his hand inadvertently formed a fist which he proceeded to plough right into Caleb's nose as the little boy let out a loud cry.

Miss Rosalie wasn't very far away and instantly she was beside the boys, pulling Liam away from the bully as he continued to try to make contact with his face.

'Liam, Liam, stop' she cried out as she pulled them apart

Caleb's nose was bleeding and he began to cry at the sight of the blood dripping onto the grass. Liam stood, paralysed, realizing what he'd done and becoming instantly aware of the agonizing pain in his fist.

'What's gotten into you?' she asked loudly as she struggled to keep the boys apart

By the time first aid was applied and Liam had calmed down, parents began to arrive and Miss Rosalie stood by to greet them individually to share information about their child's day. She spotted Neal arriving and took a deep breath; it was never much fun to share with a parent that their child had been injured or had misbehaved in some way.

Neal spotted his son riding a tricycle at the other end of the playground and waved with a smile. He loved to see Liam in action, playing with his friends. He longed for his son to have a nice, normal childhood complete with two parents who loved him and lots of friends to surround him.

'Hi Mr. Caffrey' said Rosalie as she stepped closer

'Hey, how are you?' Neal asked, his usual killer smile firmly on his face 'How was Liam's day?'

'Well actually, Liam was involved in an altercation with another child' she began as Neal's smile slowly melted

He assumed Liam had been the victim of some bully but as she spoke, it became clear that his sweet, innocent boy had been the instigator and that he had attacked another little boy, seemingly unprovoked.

'I didn't hear what happened before I got there and it's possible Liam was provoked' she was saying 'but we just can't tolerate this kind of behavior. I'm certain you understand'

Neal nodded as she spoke, concerned as to what might have pushed Liam to behave in such an aggressive way, so out of character. His son was a pacifist, like his dad, and physical force had never been advocated as a way of dealing with any type of problem in the Caffrey household.

Father and son made their way home in silence. Neal had tried to get his son to speak up and explain his behavior but Liam wasn't about to share the horrible lies he'd heard about his beloved dad. He clammed up, refusing to speak as Neal became ever more insistent that he explain himself.

'Hi, guys' Sara called from the kitchen as Neal and Liam walked in.

She bent down to welcome Liam with a hug but the little guy just looked up at his dad and didn't make a move towards his mom's welcoming arms.

'Are you sure you don't have anything to say?' asked Neal for the umpteenth time

Liam just shook his head, defiant.

'Then go to your room and think about what you did and we'll call you when dinner is ready' he said reluctantly

Neal had never had to play the role of enforcer with his son; the young boy was always sweet and cooperative. Sara looked at her husband questioningly as Liam dragged his feet towards the staircase and slowly made his way up to his room.

'What happened?' asked Sara

'He punched one of the kids at preschool' Neal said as he took a seat at the kitchen table, looking defeated

'What?' asked Sara, incredulous

'And he doesn't want to tell me why' Neal said, shaking his head

'That doesn't sound like Liam' said Sara, taking the chair in front of him

'The teacher said she didn't see what happened but she did imply that the other little guy is a bully' he said

'Caleb?' asked Sara

'Yeah, how did you know?' asked Neal, looking at his wife

'Because he's the class bully and he's always picking on the other kids' explained Sara

'How come I didn't know that?' asked Neal. He prided himself on his superior observation skills.

'Because I pick Liam up four days out of five' volunteered Sara, helping him save face

Neal took a long slow breath and let it out. Regardless of the situation, Liam had to learn that you couldn't resolve your problems with your fists and the little boy needed to have consequences for his actions.

Liam sat on the edge of his bed and the tears began rolling down his face. Why did Caleb say those horrible things about his daddy. His dad was the best; he took care of him, read to him, played games with him and was always there when Liam needed him. He didn't want to repeat the bad things Caleb had said and if that meant being punished, he decided he would deal with it.

His dad must never know why he'd lost his temper.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Neal**

Life was good for Neal George Caffrey – in fact, it had been absolutely _great_ for the past ten years. The ex-con had been lucky in life; despite a rough childhood and an eventual stint in prison, he had escaped relatively unscathed - considering all his misdeeds - and he was eternally grateful that his life had taken the unexpected turn it had the day he met Peter Burke.

Neal had grown up mostly on his own. At two years of age, following an unfortunate incident involving his father, Neal and his mother had been placed in the Witness Protection program. His dad had landed in jail and the young boy was left in the care of two women who did their best to help him develop into a fine upstanding young man. They had fallen short of the mark when Neal began to roam with the wrong crowd as a teenager, hanging out in pool halls with hustlers, learning much more than he ever should know about life on the dark side.

The young man had so many gifts: an amazing talent as an artist, an affable personality, the gift of the gab and startling good looks. Unfortunately, all his attributes had made for an easy slide down the path of delinquency and eventually, criminal behavior. It had been so easy to fall into the life – people liked Neal and he found out in short order that he could easily manipulate and con people into doing things they never thought possible. If he benefitted somehow, so be it.

The rush he got from the criminal life could not be underestimated and when he came to New York at the tender age of 18, he'd easily fallen in with the criminal element, the stakes rising gradually until he was forging bank bonds and stealing paintings which he fenced at great profit. Why stop when things were going so swimmingly? He'd hooked up with Mozzie, a small time criminal who saw the potential in Neal and taught him the ropes, giving him the contacts and the means to fully profit from his many gifts. Luckily for Neal, Mozzie was anything but ruthless and although Neal had taken the brunt by going to prison for their misdeeds, the older man had stood by his side over the years and remained a close friend and confidant to this day.

Neal sat in his office at Finch and Johns, gazing around his surroundings with a sense of astonishment. Although his life was settled and had been for a number of years, he still had moments of disbelief as he thought of the amazing and fulfilling life he was now living. He had a beautiful wife whom he loved more and more every day and who inspired him to stay on the straight and narrow even after eight years of marriage. He had two amazing children whom he adored and doted on incessantly. He had a job he loved where he could appreciate the many pieces of art he'd felt compelled to steal and forge in the past. It had taken an awful long time to realize what he really wanted out of life but he was settled now and he thought long and hard about any actions he might take that would put it all at risk.

Neal had spent more than half of his adult life conning others, lying to them, deflecting the truth, manipulating situations in order to gain the upper hand. Learning to be honest and transparent had been a long and slow process but the benefits of his hard earned transformation had been worth it. Nowadays, he kept nothing – well almost nothing – from his wife. She was a force to be reckoned with and he didn't want to know what would happen if she ever found him lying or deceiving her. Of course, old habits died hard and Neal was still selective about what he told Sara Ellis although these days his motivations were pure – nowadays, he limited his deflections and deceptions to things that would keep her from worrying needlessly or to keep harmless secrets when he wanted to surprise her with something she would eventually be pleased with (or so he told himself).

He opened up his briefcase, reaching mindlessly for a pad of paper when the oh so familiar item floated out of his case and down onto the floor by his feet. He stared in disbelief at the small bright orange piece of paper folded so perfectly as only one person other than himself could accomplish. He bent down to pick it up off the floor, surreptitiously glancing around at who might be looking. He hadn't seen an origami bird in over 10 years and he knew damn well who had sent it. How she had managed to get it into his briefcase undetected was something else but then again, Alex Hunter always found a way to get what she wanted.

'Joyce!' Neal called out to his assistant

'Yeah' she responded as she popped her head into his office

'Was anyone around this morning while I was in my meeting?' he asked, trying to sound casual

'Hum' she thought 'I don't think so... Oh yeah, there was a woman who was looking for you and I found her in my office when I came back from my coffee break'

'Did she say what she wanted?' asked Neal

'No, just that she'd find you or something like that' answered Joyce

Neal nodded in response.

What the hell was Alex doing back in New York? The last he'd heard, she had served a lengthy jail sentence in Spain and she'd been in touch with Mozzie once to say she was 'touring' Europe. But that had to be four of five years ago, he realized. Whatever she wanted couldn't be good – his only dealings with Alex were 'shady' dealings and in the past, she'd always found a way of pulling him in to whatever she was cooking up. This time, he didn't want to have anything to do with anything that had to do with Alex and he resolved to make that very clear if and when she showed up.

He tried in vain to get back to work, unsuccessfully, as he thought about the lady thief from his past. They'd had a lot of good times together, planning heists and pulling them off and although their brief romantic liaison was long over, he still had fond memories of their time together. The woman had amazing instincts and an unparalleled criminal mind and he knew that it would take an awful lot for the likes of Alex Hunter to leave the 'life' behind; as a matter of fact, he couldn't imagine her ever going straight.

He thought of Sara and how she would react if she knew Alex was back in the picture. She had blamed Alex for being a poor influence on Neal back in the day. Neal was a sucker for a beautiful woman and although he had no lingering romantic feelings towards Alex, he had difficulty saying no to her, especially when she got all dewey-eyed and begged for his help. Sara mustn't find out that Alex was in New York, that would just upset her and worry her. For the time being, he needed to keep his discovery to himself or risk the wrath of Sara who still worried, although increasingly less as the years went by, that Neal might falter and give in to his criminal urges.

He packed up for the day and headed out to catch his train. Sara had mentioned she was going out to a movie with El and he needed to get home in time to feed everyone and give her some turnaround time.

He was halfway to the train when he spotted her coming towards him on the busy Manhattan street, despite the dark glasses and the hat covering most of her hair. He'd recognize that walk anywhere and he watched with interest as he saw her bump into an unsuspecting mark on the sidewalk, lifting his wallet without him being the wiser. He shook his head – partly in exasperation and somewhat in admiration; she could still pull that off better than anyone else he knew.

'Alex' he said, without emotion as their paths finally crossed

'Hi Neal! I see you got my message' she said, a warm smile on her face

Neal just rolled his eyes in response as she fell into step with him, walking along the busy street.

'What are you doing back in New York? Last I heard you were having the time of your life zigzagging Europe' Neal said, without slowing the pace

'Well, things happen... and I have some business here in New York' she responded, flashing an innocent smile

Neal stopped momentarily to face her. He needed to put things straight before it went any further.

'I guess Mozzie told you I've gone straight' he said and even as he said it, it kind of stuck in his throat, a brief, fleeting regret for his past life. Seeing Alex again conjured up all the thrill and excitement of his old life as he momentarily pushed away any thoughts of the disadvantages and danger.

'How's the family and how's your little wifey' asked Alex, sarcasm dripping from her voice

'Sara is wonderful, thank you, and I'm very happy' Neal answered decisively

'I hear you two have actually procreated' she continued, sardonically

'We have two wonderful children and before you ask, I'm not interested in going any further in this brief exchange of 'what's new in your life' he responded, beginning to walk again

'C'mon Neal' she said, her voice suddenly turning more serious

He glanced at her as she removed her sunglasses, revealing a worried look he'd seldom seen in her eyes.

'I'm in a bit of trouble and I could really use your help' she finally admitted

'Sorry Alex. No way. I'm not interested' Neal responded

'Neal, please, just listen' she said, her voice becoming desperate as she took hold of his arm in an attempt to get him to stop and look at her

It worked. Neal turned once again to face her.

'Alex, whatever trouble you've gotten yourself into, you're going to have to get out of by yourself. I'm not going anywhere near any jobs that can land me in jail. Been there, done that' he said, his voice strong

'Neal, I've got people after me' she said, her voice shaky 'and if I don't deliver some... merchandise...' she said, letting the words hang in the air

'No! Stop Alex. I'm sorry if you're in trouble but I can't put my life on the line for your problems. Take care' Neal said with determination as he finally broke eye contact and turned to leave.

With those final words, he picked up the pace, leaving her behind on the sidewalk looking forlorn; he only looked back once.

WCWCWC

Neal made his way to the bedroom noticing Sara lying there, immersed in a book on French post-impressionism. He began to take off his clothes, emptying out his pant and jacket pockets as he always did, placing the various sundry items he found there on the top of his dresser – some loose change, a receipt for the coffee he'd purchased that morning, one of Hope's barrettes (the joys of being a dad). Finally, he felt an unfamiliar object in the bottom of his left pant pocket and he frowned as he realized it was another origami bird, this one pink in color. He palmed it, making his way to the bathroom before allowing himself to examine it.

Inside, was a message from Alex: 'Please Neal. I'm begging you. Madison and 46th tomorrow at noon'

He made his way to bed, as he did every night, curling up next to his wife whom he loved so very much. He gave her a dutiful kiss on the forehead as she nestled in his arms, sighing and giving him a brief hug which somehow morphed into a lingering kiss. Before he knew it, Sara's tongue was firmly in his ear, her breath warm and tantalizing as she whispered a very interesting – and obscene – proposition.

He loved Sara's tongue in his ear, as a matter of rule, but he just couldn't get in the mood after his afternoon encounter and his recent discovery and he turned to look into his wife's eyes in the darkened room. Making love to her while withholding the fact that he'd just seen Alex seemed wrong - as if his body was lying to her as well as his mouth. He needed to figure out what to do first.

'Honey, I'm sorry, I'm just really tired, okay?' he whispered in his previously retired conman voice.

Sara mustn't know about Alex – she would absolutely flip if she knew that the woman from Neal's past had made an appearance. This was one of those rare times, Neal mused, that he _had to_ keep things to himself.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Hope**

The blank page stared back at Hope Elllis-Caffrey as her young mind continued to race. She knew she should have studied more but she just hadn't been able to muster up the enthusiasm to review her multiplication and division tables. She glanced over at her best friend, Olivia Mason, sitting two seats over frantically writing on her test paper. Olivia was an ace at math contrary to Hope who mastered the languages and was top student in her art class. Although they'd studied together in preparation, they seemed to have spent more time giggling about the new boy in the class than actually getting any work done and now Hope was having regrets that she hadn't given this test the attention it deserved.

Hope had been giving her full consideration to getting some painting done back home in the studio she shared with her dad. The school district was holding an art exhibition in February and the young artist had been stockpiling her work as she prepared to be one of the featured artists. She was by far the star pupil of Mr. Swain's art class; he'd been guiding her and molding her to be the top student not only in his class but in the whole White Plains school district.

Early on, Hope had shown outstanding talent and the art teacher had taken her under his wing, pleased to have such incredible potential to work with. Her skills extended from still life to more modern styles and the teacher had had many discussions with Hope's dad, himself an accomplished artist, about her skills and how they could both support her as she continued to evolve.

There was only one catch. In order to participate in the school district's prestigious art show, students had to have a stellar performance in other areas as well – if a student flunked a class, no matter what it was, they would be automatically eliminated from participating in the show. Hope continued to stare at the paper in front of her, her brain totally blank. She glanced briefly at the clock; only ten minutes left and she totally panicked. She looked around at her fellow students, all busy writing and figuring and her heart sank. This test was worth almost half the mark for the semester and if she failed, it would be almost impossible for her to make it up before Christmas.

'Time's up' said Mrs. Hines, her third grade teacher

'Make sure your name is on your paper and pass it up to the front of the class' the teacher asked as she began to collect the test papers

Hope reluctantly put down her pencil; she was doomed.

WCWCWC

'How did the math test go?' asked Neal as Hope sat at the kitchen table doing homework before dinner

'Alright' she answered softly, pretending to be engrossed in what she was doing

'Good! See, I told you, hard work always pays off' said Neal, realizing he hadn't always felt that way

'So when do you get your results back?' he continued

'Not sure, Daddy' she murmured

'So' Neal said as he continued with the meal preparation 'Do you want to go down and paint after dinner?'

Hope put down her pencil and nodded enthusiastically. Now, _that_ was something worth getting excited about. She loved being down there in their studio, painting, drawing and just generally being with her dad. He was the best artist she'd ever seen and she loved to watch him work, learning as she went, imitating his style and trying new things. No matter what she did, he was always encouraging and supportive and she never hesitated to ask for his advice on things. She could tell he was proud of her accomplishments and she loved to see her dad looking at her with delight in his eyes.

She thought of the math test and feared that delight might soon disappear.

WCWCWC

'Olivia, I'm in big trouble!' exclaimed Hope as they sat in her friend's bedroom

She pulled out the test which had been returned to them at the end of the day and stared once again at the big fat ugly 'F' staring her right in the face

'I flunked and now I won't be able to be in the art show' she said, tears welling up in her eyes

'Let me see' said Olivia as she put out her hand to have a look

'Hope, we studied this. How could you not remember your multiplication tables?' asked Olivia

Easy for her, thought Hope. She was an ace when it came to math, always getting the top mark in the class. The tears began to flow more freely and she let out a small sob as her friend reached over to give her an encouraging hug.

'You can still make it up' answered Olivia 'The last test is worth 50%'

'I don't even know what that means' said Hope, sadly. Percentages were way beyond her realm of understanding.

'Look, show me all your math tests so far' asked her friend

Hope rooted through her school bag, pulling out all the tests they'd had in math since the beginning of the school year – all five of them – as Olivia took out her calculator and began to add things up.

'See? If you get 80% on your final test, you'll end up with a passing grade' she explained patiently to her friend, showing her the numbers which looked like Latin to Hope

'Are you sure?' Hope asked, wiping her eyes

'Yes, I'm sure. But you really have to work hard between now and Christmas' she said 'I can help you'

Hope smiled through her tears; maybe there was still hope for her. She turned her mind to a more immediate problem: telling her parents about her mark and having them sign off on the test.

'What am I going to do about my parents? They're going to kill me' she said imagining the disappointment in their eyes, especially her dad's, who was really looking forward to cheering her on at the art exhibition.

Olivia got a naughty glint in her eye as she glanced at Hope's previous tests; an evil idea was beginning to form as she examined the signature at the top of the page. If this was what it took to keep her best friend from falling apart, it was well worth it.

She took out a piece of paper and began to practice the NC she had spotted on the top of Hope's last test. Parents were required to sign off on each exam in order to be fully apprised of their children's progress and, like most parents, Neal and Sara were very involved in their daughter's performance at school – especially in math where she was struggling.

Hope watched in horror as her friend continued to imitate the ex-forger's signature – an irony that was totally lost on her.

'I don't know...' said Hope as she watched her friend continue to work

'Do you want your parents to see this test?' asked Olivia

'No!' answered Hope, horrified

'Well, I can't think of anything else we can do' she said as she stuck her tongue out, struggling with her latest effort at falsifying Neal's signature

'That looks pretty good' acknowledged Hope as she began to study Olivia's last attempt

Olivia took a deep breath and steadied her hand as she took the test paper, signing with a flourish and handing it back to her best friend.

'Wow! You're good at this' Hope conceded as she examined the signature

Olivia Mason, forger extraordinaire, gave her a casual shrug and smiled.

WCWCWC

'So how did you do on that math test?' asked Sara as she busied herself around the kitchen trying to get dinner going, her least favorite thing

Neal was working late and she'd had to pick up both kids and get dinner started. She thanked her lucky stars that she wasn't a single parent and she had a brief flash of admiration for all those moms and dads who raised kids on their own.

'Good' said Hope as she pretended to read

'What did you get?' her mom asked as she hurried to the refrigerator to grab some celery

'A _'B' _she lied, without hesitation. She'd been practicing saying that in the mirror in preparation for the inevitable question that would come from one or the other of her parents.

'Wow! Fantastic! Here, let me sign it for you' Sara said, enthusiastically

'It's okay, Daddy already signed it last night' the young girl fibbed as her mom stood there waiting

'Well, let me look at it' Sara said, her eyes excited about her daughter's success

Hope pretended to start looking for the test in her school backpack when they were interrupted by a voice coming from the front of the house.

'Mommy! I need you!' Liam cried from the powder room by the front door

'Hold it, honey' Sara said to Hope 'I'll be right back' she added as she dropped everything to rescue her son who was no doubt struggling with getting his pants done up after using the toilet.

She returned a few seconds later, looking even more flustered than before as she glanced at the clock, realizing she needed to get a move-on in order to get the meal on the table.

'Mommy, I'm hungry' whined Liam as he pulled on her skirt

'Right, now where was I?' said Sara as she grabbed for a knife and began chopping the celery she had just taken out of the refrigerator

Hope let out a sigh, thankful for her mom's fleeting absent-mindedness and short attention span and she pretended to return to her book.

And that was the first time Hope Ellis-Caffrey lied to her parents.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Sara**

Sara studied the menu as she waited for her lunch partner to arrive. She didn't often take the time to go out for lunch on weekdays but it had been weeks since she and Elizabeth had been able to find any 'girl' time and she was really looking forward to spending some quality time with her best friend before returning to the mess that was waiting for her at the office. One of her underlings had dropped the ball on the recovery of a lesser known but still very valuable Gauguin and Sara had spent the morning talking to her client on the phone, trying to put a positive spin on the disastrous recovery attempt and regretfully informing the very stuck-up and high maintenance Mrs. Goodwin that her painting was probably gone forever.

She returned to the menu, tempted by the grilled brie with pears although she realized she really should avoid carbs altogether – they seemed to make her bloat like a beach ball lately. She thought back to Neal's rebuke from the night before – surely, she was reading too much into it, he'd probably just been tired, like he'd said. On the other hand, they hadn't made love in almost a week, yet her very best move (the always winning tongue in the ear while whispering a very naughty proposition) had failed as they'd lay in bed the night before.

Sara had turned 40 just a week before and it had hit hard, leaving her to wonder whether or not she was still attractive to her husband who was still a hot, sexy man despite being five years her senior. Maybe she was getting past her sell-by date, she thought, as she returned to the menu, finally deciding on an Asian salad without dressing. Whatever happened, she couldn't give up; she had to keep fighting even if, after two babies, her body _was_ beginning to sag and droop in all the wrong places. Not that Neal had ever complained – ever – but her confidence was shaken and she needed to get herself back to that poised and self-assured place that she knew had always been a turn-on for her husband.

Elizabeth appeared in her field of vision, coming around the corner and Sara gave her a small wave as she walked past her in the window front. El seemed preoccupied these days, Sara noted. Everyone had worries and wasn't that what friends were for? Sharing the good and the bad and getting some well-intentioned advice.

'Hi Sara. Sorry, I guess time got away from me' Elizabeth said as she breezed in, hugging her friend briefly before taking a seat across from her

'That's okay. I've only been here a couple of minutes' Sara responded as she handed her friend a copy of the menu.

'Oh, that's okay' said Elizabeth dismissively 'I know what I'm having – they have this amazing grilled brie sandwich with pears here'

Sara let out a sigh. It shouldn't be this hard to keep your love life fresh and exciting.

The women sat, both enjoying their sandwiches and café au lait and had been chatting about everything and anything when Sara finally got up the nerve to bring up the subject; she and Elizabeth shared a lot but they'd never been big on sharing details about their sex lives although it was obvious to all four of them that there were no issues in that department for either couple. Sara and Neal were presumed to be pretty hot in bed if one took the time to observe their interactions. They were what one might consider a touchy-feely couple, especially Neal who never missed an opportunity to make physical contact with his wife, ever so discreetly (or so he thought), whenever they were in the same room. The way Sara's eyes lingered on her husband's body – more precisely his amazing butt – when she thought no one was looking was another dead giveaway and El always envied them the spontaneity of their touches and looks. She was married to Agent Peter Burke and although she had absolutely no complaints about their life in the boudoir, he was much more reserved when it came to public displays of affection and El had adapted to Peter's style over the years.

'You and Peter...' Sara began tentatively 'Are things still... good... for you?'

'You mean in the bedroom?' asked Elizabeth who was more open and frank than her best friend

'Yeah, I mean, have things changed over the years?' Sara prodded

'I'm assuming you're asking because you have a specific concern and not because you suddenly want me to start giving you details about our sex life' El said as she put down her fork to give Sara her full attention

'Well, Neal and I... you know, it's good, I mean I'd qualify it as _very_ good but lately it's just gotten a little bit more... you know... routine' she finally said, slightly embarrassed

'Well, things change over time – our bodies change, we get busy. You guys have two young kids; that's tiring and I'm sure you don't always feel like being spontaneous and having a night of passionate lovemaking when you know you have to be up at six in the morning to make lunches' El reasoned

'I guess. Maybe it's just that this last birthday hit pretty hard. And Neal, well, he's still the sexiest man I've ever met and he could make anyone sit up and take notice' Sara admitted rather sheepishly

'Yeah but he only has eyes for you' interrupted Elizabeth

'I guess... for now' Sara said

'Sara Ellis! What's gotten into you? You are one of the sexiest, most confident woman I've ever met and believe me, your husband knows that too!' said Elizabeth, setting her straight

'I wasn't fishing for a compliment, El. I mean it, maybe it's time to shake things up. Neal actually turned me down last night – and I was using one of my best moves' said Sara, looking forlorn

'Did you ask him if something was on his mind?' asked El, always the helpful friend

'No. I just turned over and moped' admitted Sara

'Sara, believe me when I say I really don't think you have anything to worry about. But you know, there are always ways to spice things up if you really want to' El volunteered

Sara's face perked up: 'Like what?'

'I don't know... take some dance lessons together or go out for an evening on the town. Peter and I will be glad to take the kids if you want to stay out for the night. I remember you telling me about that night you spent at the Ritz after Hope was born – you were actually blushing when you came back' said El with a naughty smile

'That was different. First off, it was over eight years ago and Hope was just a baby...' Sara began

'Sara, it's the same thing. Your sex life isn't going to be off the charts every single time but there are ways to make things happen if you really want to. Stephanie, at my office, she took pole dancing lessons and she tells me that her husband begs her to dance for him every chance he gets. She swears by it' confessed Elizabeth

'Pole dancing?' Sara asked, her face scrunched up like a question mark

'Yeah, why not? It's fun and it freshens things up' El said as the waitress returned with their bill

'Apparently, it's a great cardio-vascular workout' she added as she grabbed for her purse

'Yeah, right, as if' answered Sara, doing the same

Elizabeth looked at her friend, eyebrows raised. 'You'll never know if you don't try' she said

The women parted ways out on the street in front of the café, vowing to get together on the following weekend for a bit of shopping and Sara made her way back to Sterling Bosch where she was met by her assistant, Jenny, who had obviously been anxiously awaiting her return.

'Mr. Bosch wants to see you at three o'clock' she said, handing her a note

'I have no doubt' said Sara dismissively

He obviously wanted to rake her over the coals over the failed recovery and she had to find a way to put a positive spin on things without totally destroying her underling whom she liked quite a bit. Lydia Wilson had excellent instincts; as a matter of fact, she reminded Sara of herself when she was younger – headstrong, eager and hard-working. Sure, she had obviously shown a lack of judgement in this case but Sara had no doubt the young woman would learn from her mistakes; as her boss, Sara had to walk the fine line between reprimanding her and totally destroying her motivation and enthusiasm.

She sat down at her computer to catch up on e-mails and without any warning, her fingers found themselves typing the words 'pole dancing classes' on the Google search engine. She was intrigued by the many hits she got; there were classes all over the place including one in good old White Plains, in her very own back yard. She began to read about the merits of the course – they touted its cardio-vascular benefits, the improvement in flexibility and mobility as well as enhanced muscle tone. There was a passing reference to the contribution such training might bring to your love life, but it didn't seem to be the main selling point of the classes.

Imagining herself doing the deed in front of an appreciative Neal brought an embarrassed flush to her cheeks. Her husband had always been adventurous in the bedroom and no doubt he'd appreciate the effort but she had difficulty imagining him lying there watching her squirm and jiggle with a straight face – his or hers. Still, it might be fun...

She smiled as she thought of the time Neal had eaten cheesecake off her pregnant belly, the time they actually got it on in an elevator and the less than stellar attempt they'd made at having sex in the washroom of a high end restaurant while Elizabeth and Peter waited patiently at their table. He sure had his moments and he'd probably think this new venture was a hoot.

Why was she having such doubts about herself, she wondered – was it the age thing? Sara knew better than to let herself be defined by something as arbitrary as a number and she scrolled down to the bottom of the webpage to get information on class times and dates. Before she had a chance to change her mind, she began to fill out her personal information on line, grabbing for her purse to get her credit card number. If she thought too much about it, she would chicken out and Sara was nothing if not decisive and determined once she committed to doing something.

Neal couldn't know, though.

The fun would be in surprising him and watching the sparks fly as he was rendered speechless at the sight of her writhing on a pole - just for him. Maybe she'd get a really sexy leather outfit – Neal liked leather...

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Elizabeth**

Being a wife and social coordinator in her own home was all very gratifying but Elizabeth Burke was the type of woman who'd always wanted just a little bit more out of life. So when she decided to put her many outstanding skills and boundless energy towards setting up her own business, El had been extremely pleased with the final results. There had never been any doubt that a business headed by Elizabeth Burke would put to good use her amazing sense of style, her outstanding people skills and her proficiency at planning and coordination so when she decided on a career in organizing and managing special events, it seemed like a natural fit.

And thus was born Burke Premiere Events.

In some ways, this was her baby. Peter and El had never been blessed with children, something she had grieved over for about five minutes before deciding to stop her moaning and create something that was to her image, a reflection of who she was. Oh, there was no doubt that Elizabeth would have been an amazing mother and that had certainly always been part of her life plan but when reality hit and she and Peter were unable to conceive, she'd turned her attention and energy towards building a company she could be proud of.

And proud she was.

She'd virtually done this all on her own with a little help from the bank and unwavering support from her loving husband. But make no mistake; Burke Premiere Events was all El. She ran it by herself with very little help except for her employees whom she trusted to bring to life her vision for her esteemed company. She presently had three staff working for her: Yvonne Mackenzie, who had been with her since she'd set up shop, Stephanie Harris who had joined the team after the first five years and Sophie Smithson who had come along the following year. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with as their combined skill set made for success everywhere they went. Their reputation was stellar in the event business and for years they had happily existed from one happy customer to another as word got out that Burke Premiere Events was the place to go for your next major gathering be it business or pleasure.

Success beyond belief, that is, until the economy had begun to tank and companies had started to pull back on those big, flashy events they had been known to host in more affluent times. Business events had always been their bread and butter and the income from those events had allowed Burke Premiere Events to charge more modest prices to their customers planning family gatherings, weddings, bar mitzvahs and the like.

Although Elizabeth took pleasure in seeing every single one of her customers happy and satisfied, there was something about those private, family gatherings that made her heart swell and they had always been her very favorite events to cater. After all, there was nothing like seeing a bride beaming on her wedding day or a gathering of four generations to celebrate the matriarch's 100th birthday. Those events tugged at your heartstrings and Elizabeth enjoyed watching everyone present walk away with unforgettable memories – memories she had helped to create.

So, when times had gotten though financially and she knew she had exhausted her credit at the bank, Elizabeth had turned to Mozzie for help. This was _her _company and she was determined to use her own, personal contacts to make it a success. Luckily, Mozzie was well connected and he had put her in touch with a 'business' acquaintance of his who had been more than happy to put up a loan to carry her through the rough patch – only the rough patch had been going on for over three years now, with no relief in sight.

Elizabeth had many skills; unfortunately, keeping on top of her finances was not one of them. Although her husband would have been happy to lend a helping hand (had he known), Elizabeth had never involved him in her business and she had promised herself she never would. After all, did Peter ever consult her on how he should carry out a take-down or how he should go about questioning a suspect? Of course not. And she would never ask him if a garden theme was the way to go or if they should use gold or red as a backdrop.

She sat at her desk, running her hands through her hair as she took in the numbers on the spreadsheet in front of her. They were exponentially worse than they had been three months before when she'd last done a financial check and El rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing the bottom line clearly; a loss of $47,300 over the last three months of operation! El had known for awhile that she would have to let one of her staff go but she had preferred to bury her head in the sand rather than cut anybody loose. Sophie was expecting a baby and as a single mom, she needed to keep working in the worse way, Stephanie's husband had recently lost his job and Yvonne, well, she'd been with her since day one, standing steadfast by her side through thick and thin. She had been unable to terminate any of their employments and here was the result, staring her right in the face.

For the first time since Mozzie had stepped in to save the day, Elizabeth realized she would be unable to make her monthly payment to her benefactor (loan shark) and she let out a soft gasp at the realization. The bank would never loan her money when she'd made such a mess of her finances and her options were limited; she certainly wasn't going to let Peter know about the hole she'd created for herself. She thought of Eddie (no last name), Mozzie's 'friend'; he seemed reasonable enough... all she had to do was come clean, surely he'd cut her some slack until she could get back on her feet.

WCWCWC

The cute little bell at the door to the small storefront operation chimed announcing a couple of visitors and Elizabeth straightened out her skirt to welcome them in style. The small space they occupied was set up with a variety of table settings, backdrop decorations and sundry knick knacks, just a small sampling of how great your event could look should you choose the services of Burke Premiere Events. It was a modest little storefront operation but all the same Elizabeth Burke was proud to call it hers.

She made her way to greet the new arrivals, certainly not the usual type of customers: two burly men, dressed rather shabbily stood by the door, looking around and Elizabeth suddenly regretted having sent all her staff out to lunch at the same time leaving her all alone. She immediately felt uneasy and she thought of all the tricks she'd learned over the years being married to a naturally suspicious FBI agent and she walked confidently towards the door where the two men had taken a few steps inside and were glancing around the open space.

'Good afternoon, gentlemen' she said, her voice confident as she stepped up, positioning herself near the door to the shop

Not that there was much to steal here but Peter had always taught her to stand between the door and any person she felt uncomfortable with, allowing for a quick exit if need be.

'Whatever' said the first man, his voice gruff

'We're looking for Elizabeth Burke' said the second man as he leered at her, taking her in from the top of her head to her very stylish high heel shoes

'Well, you've found her' El said, cheerfully 'How can I help you?'

The second man, the leerer, took a few steps closer getting uncomfortably close to entering her private space and Elizabeth took a tentative step back as he stared at her, unblinking.

'We're friends of Eddie's' he said, his breath (he definitely could have used a Tic-Tac) right up in her face

'Oh, I see' she said, unsure what other response was expected

'He sent us over to pick up his money' said the second man, closing in

'Well, actually, I was hoping I could have a meeting with Eddie' said Elizabeth, suddenly nervous

'No meeting' said the creepy guy 'just the money'

'Well, I ... I don't have anything for him today but I could see what I could do...' she began as the man crept even closer to her, almost pushing her up against the door.

The man came right up to her face, taking his filthy hand and placing it on El's cheek making her squirm as he spoke: 'Eddie is _not_ a very patient man' he said, leaving no room for interpretation. 'We'll be back tomorrow for _some form_ of payment'

Elizabeth tried to keep it together even though her legs were shaking underneath her and she could feel her hands getting wet and clammy. She nodded in agreement – anything to get these animals out of her store.

'Enjoy your day' said the second man as he walked past her, grabbing some candy from a nearby dish and following his partner out of the door.

As she heard the door close, El finally allowed herself to start breathing again. She felt like she had just re-enacted a scene from some gangster movie with James Cagney breathing down her neck.

How the hell had she gotten herself into this mess – and more importantly, how was she going to get herself out.

WCWCWC

'Mozzie, please call me back; it's an emergency' Elizabeth said into her phone, her voice frantic

She was in much deeper than she could possibly imagine and although Peter was a logical choice to turn to, she would not even consider that option. First off, she'd never been forthcoming about the company's financial situation figuring she could handle things by herself. Peter had been very proud of his wife's accomplishments and he touted her success anytime he could - even with passing acquaintances. He would be so disappointed if he found out she had somehow messed up. He'd probably come out with guns blazing at these thugs whom El had inadvertently invited into her life by agreeing to take their money and he would want to rescue her by giving her the necessary cash to get her out of her present quandary.

No way.

Peter must never know.

She would find a way out of this mess and she would do it all by herself.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Neal sat in the conference room of the White Collar Unit and waited patiently, sipping his coffee, as the rest of the crew slowly began to assemble around the table. Peter had contacted him and asked if he would be available to lend a hand on their latest case; it was custom made for someone like Neal who would be more than helpful in providing insight into the mindset of the Sullivan family as they pillaged local museums in search of valuable art they could fence – all in aid of their booming drug trade.

On any given case, there was always the possibly that Peter would ask Neal to go undercover – something Neal still thrived on despite the risks involved. However, these days, the decision as to whether or not to go undercover was always made in consultation with Sara who weighed in on the risks involved to both Neal and their family. Neal recalled the case about three years earlier that had spilled over into their home life when a thug had shown up at their house looking for his alter ego as Sara stood there with baby Liam in her arms. That had been a little too close for comfort and nowadays, the couple took the time to make certain Neal's safety could be ensured and that their family was never put at risk.

Neal could see Peter in his office next door, presumably preoccupied by the current case, moving papers around on his desk and generally looking worried and anxious, an unusual state for the senior agent. Neal set his coffee down, opening the door that separated the conference room from Peter's office and peeked in.

'Hey, everything okay in there?' he asked

'Yeah, yeah, sorry I'll be right there' said Peter, assembling his documents

'I thought the meeting was at 9:00?' asked Neal

'It is' answered Peter 'It's only ten to'

Neal checked his watch and sighed. He was known for his punctuality but the fact was he'd been lying awake in bed since four in the morning watching Sara sleep and mulling over what to do about Alex's invitation to meet with him at noon. He was torn. He really didn't need this complication in his life – and he knew without a doubt that Alex's presence always led to complications. He'd already had to sidestep Sara's advances which had obviously left her miffed and although he hated deceiving her, until he decided what to do about the situation, it was better to keep things to himself.

It had taken a long time for Sara to forgive and forget Neal's last deception which had happened just after Liam was born. An old girlfriend of Neal's had resurfaced, egged on by Matthew Keller and she had been tasked with trying to break up the fragile couple at a time when Sara had been suffering from post-partum depression. The fallout from Neal's lack of transparency had taken its toll on the couple and Neal certainly didn't want a repeat of that situation. But the truth was that Alex had had his back on so many occasions over the years and although he'd always reciprocated and didn't owe her anything, he still felt compelled to hear her out and see what he could do to help her – if he could do that without overstepping that fine line into criminality.

Neal loved Sara and his children and he had no doubt that his life was exactly what he wanted it to be – but he couldn't deny that he still had fond memories of his indiscriminate youth which he'd shared with the likes of Mozzie, Kate and Alex. It had been a life filled with risk and danger and it had met some deep-seated need he'd had to take chances and live life on the edge. Like everyone else including his wife, he had a past and it was part of what made him who he was today.

'So, were you able to read the case file?' Peter's voice was heard, suddenly breaking the silence and bringing Neal back to the here and now

'Yeah' said Neal as he opened up the file folder sitting on the table in front of him 'The Sullivans have been kicking around Miami for at least twenty years; I've certainly heard of their exploits – they were rumored to be behind the high profile theft of that Chagall in 1999'

'Well, it was never seen again' said Peter

Diana and Jones finally ambled in followed by the rest of the Harvard crew and Peter officially welcomed Neal to the operation, outlining what they knew from the surveillance footage they had managed to get since the Sullivan clan's arrival in New York.

'We know they're in the market for some 'help' in lifting some pieces from local museums. They've been spotted scoping out the Brooklyn Museum and the Dahesh and they've been asking around about local talent – although we all know we are in the presence of one of the – ahem – greats' Peter added reluctantly

He hated praising Neal for his past misdeeds but there was no getting around the fact that Neal Caffrey had been one of the most brilliant and talented art thieves and forgers of his generation – on _both _sides of the ocean. Neal smiled modestly although he was feeling anything but modest at Peter's recognition of his by-gone feats.

'So' continued Peter 'I'm wondering if we shouldn't make Neal's services available to them and follow the trail'

Neal nodded in agreement – he'd already floated his involvement in this case past Sara and they were both satisfied that this assignment could be carried out quickly and painlessly.

'Well, we could get them on theft but what about the drug charges?' asked Jones

'That's really not our concern' answered Peter 'Once we get them on theft and fencing of stolen goods, we can hand them over to the DOJ to investigate the drug charges'

'Diana' he continued 'I need you to set up a solid background for Neal'

'Will do' she responded

'And Neal, just stand by and let us get you set up and then we'll put the word out that you're back on the market'

Neal nodded. Just like old times!

WCWCWC

Elizabeth paced between the kitchen and the living room, stopping to look in the window at both ends of the house as she lay in wait for Mozzie. She prayed he'd gotten the numerous messages she'd left him since the night before following the visit of 'Pudge' and 'Sludge' at her place of business.

She'd managed to get through the rest of the day without alarming her staff – although Yvonne came in to check on her on three separate occasions as Elizabeth continued to hide out in her small office. Once home, she'd somehow managed to avoid Peter, who looked immersed in his own little world – no doubt the case he was working on. But sleep never came and she'd lain in bed all night staring at the ceiling and going over several potential scenarios including finding her business burned to the ground or waking up to find the two men hovering over her as she slept. She'd left countless messages for Mozzie who had yet to respond; he did have a life, she reminded herself, although she was never quite sure exactly what Mozzie did with his time. She'd looked for him at June's and had tried all eleven of the phone numbers she had for him but to no avail.

It was ten in the morning and she'd given everybody the day off so no one would be caught in the crossfire when the not so dynamic duo inevitably made their return. She prayed that Mozzie would make an appearance before then because she wasn't quite sure what she would do when they came back looking for their pound of flesh.

El stepped over Satchmo who was lying there being very, very good. Ever since his masters' return the day before, he had been in the proverbial dog house as they had taken in the mess he'd made while they were out earning a living to buy him toys and food. Elizabeth gave him the evil eye, once more, as she thought of the beautiful vintage lamp that had been shattered into a thousand pieces and the dog just looked up, desolate and contrite, begging with his eyes to be forgiven for the unfortunate accident – although frankly, he didn't feel he'd had anything to do with it.

El returned to pacing back and forth, her phone on her ear, as she continued to try to reach Mozzie. She suddenly heard a car stop in front of the house and peeked out behind the curtains, hoping to see Mozzie stepping out of a cab but realizing in horror that it was the two men making a return visit not even twenty four hours after the first.

She began to panic, her mind racing as to what to do. They had even followed her home, she realized in disbelief – was nothing sacred? – and she looked around frantically deciding what to do next. Run? Hide? Confront them? No, definitely not confront them, she thought. She made a beeline for the stairs, deciding that at this point, the best solution was to hide and wait for Mozzie to come and rescue her. She ran up the stairs frantically with Satchmo on her heels and just as she reached the top of the stairs, she heard the lock being picked and she made a mad dash for the closet in her bedroom, pulling the door tightly behind her as loyal Satchmo took up the spot right in front of the closet door, ready to defend his mistress.

She stood in utter silence and listened intently as she heard the men moving around downstairs, obviously looking for her and taking in the lay of the land. After a few minutes, she heard footsteps coming up the stairs and she immediately stopped breathing as she stood motionless, hopeful they wouldn't find her and that Satchmo wouldn't give her away. She could see him through the crack of the Venetian door, standing at attention as he heard the men enter the bedroom and he let out a convincingly menacing bark obviously taking the men by surprise as they stepped in to continue their search.

'Hey pooch' said one of the men coming closer as Satchmo began to growl at him threateningly

'I hate dogs' said the second man as he looked nervously around the bedroom

'Look, the broad's obviously not here' said the first man, the creepy one, and El could see him foraging through the various items on their chest of drawers.

'This might be worth a few bucks' he said as he picked something up and pocketed it

Satchmo let out another menacing bark and the second man took a step back, out of the room and towards the stairs.

'Let's report to Eddie and we can try her store again this afternoon' said 'creepy guy' as he followed his cohort in crime out of the room and down the stairs

It took a couple of minutes but El finally heard the front door close and with her legs barely holding her up, she stepped out of the closet glancing down at Satchmo who was wagging his tail, looking very pleased with the job he'd done protecting her.

'Good boy!' she said as she touched his head 'You're forgiven'

Satchmo's tail began to wag in response to the compliment and he followed Elizabeth down the stairs as she crept down, afraid the men might still be lurking about. Thankfully, they were nowhere in sight and El made her way to the kitchen, collapsing on a kitchen stool when suddenly the back door opened and she let out a blood curdling scream.

'El, it's me' said Mozzie, alarmed at the welcome he'd gotten

'Mozzie!' she screamed in relief as she threw herself in his arms 'I am in so much trouble!'

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

By the time things wrapped up at the Federal Building, it was almost 11:30 and Neal still hadn't made up his mind whether or not he would be keeping his rendez-vous with Alex at noon. She'd said she would be waiting for him at a café not far from his office and without any conscious effort on his part, he found his feet slowly gravitating in that direction. By five minutes to noon, he stood in front of the café at the corner of Madison and 46th and watched as Alex Hunter leisurely made her way towards him, still not having noticed that he was standing there.

He observed her as she came closer, noting that she had aged gracefully over the years although her step appeared to be just a little less sprightly than he remembered. But she still had that arrogant, cocky look she'd always had and Neal wondered how it would feel to mature and enter your middle-age years while still living the life. He felt momentarily relieved, realizing he would never have to find out – he knew one thing for sure, whether he agreed to help Alex or not, he would never be going back to the life he'd willingly left behind.

She finally spotted him standing there in front of the Green Papaya and her shoulders dropped as relief flooded her face.

'Neal! You came!' she said as she got within earshot

He gave her a small smile, wondering what the hell he _was_ doing there. Alex would always be Alex and he needed to make sure that he could live with whatever she would undoubtedly be asking of him. Keeping secrets from Sara was a bad idea and he needed to be sure he wasn't creating a rift that couldn't be mended over time.

'Against my better judgement' he answered as he accepted the peck she placed on his cheek

They entered the restaurant, bypassing the large crowd of mid-day patrons, finally finding a small table away from prying ears. Neal knew with certainty that he would regret having come but just like watching an accident happening in slow motion, he hadn't been able to stop himself; he just couldn't stand by, leaving Alex in a lurch whatever mess she'd managed to get herself into.

After their drinks came, Neal put down his menu and locked eyes with Alex as he noticed the lines forming on her forehead once more.

'Alex, what's this all about?' he finally asked

She took a deep breath and he noticed with curiosity that there were tiny lines around her mouth which had never been there before, a testament to the ten years since he'd seen her last. Even cons got older, he thought with amusement.

'I've gotten myself into a bit of a jam' she admitted, sheepishly

'So you said' Neal answered

'I've been in Miami for the past six months, you know, keeping things fresh' she began

That was code for hitting a new city every few months to keep the cops off your trail and Neal knew exactly what that was like. He'd spent a good part of his early twenties just floating from one city to the next both in the States and in Europe, moving whenever things started to heat up, making sure to leave a cold trail behind him to whatever new place he was headed. Alex looked tired and haggard and whatever had happened in Miami had obviously left her shaken up.

'I did a job for a mob family down there and now they're blackmailing me' she said, looking slightly embarrassed

Alex Hunter was her own person and she wasn't used to doing other people's bidding. As a matter of fact, she'd had more than one falling out with Neal over the years, causing them to drift apart and work independently until they would eventually come across a two-man job, compelling them to join forces once again. But like Neal, she preferred to work alone and she sure as hell didn't want to be on anyone's payroll, pulling heists to benefit some third party, no matter how generous her benefactors were; Alex, like Neal, lived by the motto 'all the work and all the glory'.

'How are they blackmailing you?' asked Neal, suddenly feeling a surge of empathy for his old friend

'They've got enough on me to turn me in to the Feds unless I pull a high risk job for them here in New York' she answered

'What do you need _me_ for?' Neal asked, suddenly intrigued

'I need your help in scoping the place and maybe even helping me pull off...' she began

'Oh, no Alex! There is no way you're dragging me into a heist; I've left that world behind and I'm not going back' said Neal, his voice strong and decisive

'Neal, you don't know the Sullivans. They can be...' she said, her voice suddenly unexpectedly shaky

'The Sullivans!' Neal repeated as the little light went on in his foggy brain

'Yeah, they're a large mob family out of Miami' she responded

Neal let out a sardonic laugh as he took in the irony of the situation.

'I know exactly who they are' he said, shaking his head

'Well, they've got me on tape grabbing a Mayan carving from the Lowe and then they used the tape as leverage to get me to go back for this sculpture of Aphrodite which they ended up fencing for over a million dollars – and I got a pittance' Alex said bitterly

'Alex, I'm working with Peter on bringing down the Sullivans' Neal said by way of explanation 'I can't be involved in any of this – and you can't either'

'But Neal, they're watching me. If I try to leave town without delivering the merchandise, they've threatened to kill me' she said with alarm

Neal took a deep breath as he listened, contemplating what to do next. There was always a way out of every situation, you just had to keep looking until you found it.

Why, oh why were things always so complicated whenever Alex was involved?

WCWCWC

Sara sped through the aisles in the grocery store as she always did when she drew the short straw and had to run errands – which she hated to do. She had just come out of the deli when she bumped into Mrs. Jennings from across the street, whom Sara and her friend Donna Mason kindly (or not so kindly) referred to as Mrs. Nosy. Unfortunately, despite some fancy last-minute footwork, there was no way to avoid her and before Sara knew what had happened, the snoopy neighbor had her cornered right between the coffee display and the loaves of freshly baked bread.

'Sara! I thought that was you' said the elderly Mrs. Jennings

'Hi Mrs Jennings! How are you?' Sara said, immediately regretting having posed the simple question

'Well you know dear, my arthritis is acting up with the cold weather coming' she responded

'I'm sorry to hear that' said Sara as she tried to manoeuvre her cart around the woman who was practically blocking her way

'I noticed that new family that moved in two houses over from your place' said the old lady, leaning on her cart and indicating she was settling in for a long, involved discussion

'He's a police officer, did you know that? Works for the Westchester Police Department' she continued before Sara could make a sound

'And I hear she works for a car dealership – I think the Kia place on Selleck. And, you know what?' she added, as she dropped her voice to a near whisper 'They're Jehovah's Witnesses!'

Sara was feeling trapped and she'd begun to look for an escape route when she suddenly spotted Hope's teacher, Mrs Hines, a few feet away.

'Mrs Jennings, I'm sorry but I need to have a word with Mrs Hines' she said as she all but rammed her cart through the elderly woman's path 'It's been lovely talking to you'

Karen Hines heard Sara's voice saying her name and turned to face her, obviously in a hurry herself.

'Mrs Caffrey, how are you?' she said kindly

'Hi!' said Sara 'Sorry about that, I was just needing to ...'

The teacher nodded knowingly 'Ah, Mrs. Jennings, yes she's got quite a reputation' she responded

Sara shrugged and was preparing to go on her way when the woman spoke up, once again.

'Look, I know you're probably concerned about Hope's latest math test but I want you to know that I've already seen a difference in her level of concentration this week. She seems very committed to making up that failing grade' she said

Sara listened as the teacher spoke, unable to hide the surprise from her face.

'Failing grade?' asked Sara, unable to hold back

'You did see the test result, didn't you?' asked Mrs Hines

'Actually, my husband signed off on it and he didn't mention anything about it' said Sara, obviously embarrassed

'Look, if Hope buckles down, she can make it up by Christmas. I know she really wants to participate in the art show next semester. Tell her not to give up' said the kind teacher as she finally pulled away and started down the fruit aisle

Sara smiled, embarrassed that she wasn't even aware that her daughter had flunked her math test and she silently cursed Neal for not telling her about it.

A _'B'_ indeed!

WCWCWC

'Agent Burke? Are you alright, sir?' the janitor asked as he spotted Peter on all fours, head firmly buried underneath his desk

'Yes, I'm... Ow!' Peter yelled out as he violently bumped his head on the bottom of his desk in an attempt to rise from the floor

'Sorry, Eugene. I was just looking for something I dropped' said Peter, finally getting to his feet

'You're working late tonight, sir' said the cleaner as he began to push his cleaning cart into Peter's office

'Well, you know, there's always more work than we can finish in a day' answered Peter sheepishly

'Eugene' he added, smiling at the old gentleman who had been a faithful janitor for the White Collar offices since Peter could remember 'You didn't find anything in here while you were cleaning yesterday, did you?'

'Find anything?' the man echoed, obviously confused as to the question

'Yeah, I lost something and I'm not sure where' responded Peter

'No sir. But I can keep an eye out. What is it you've lost?' he asked

Peter hadn't yet admitted what he'd done to anyone and for some reason, he hesitated before he spoke.

'It's my wife's wedding ring. I had it in my pocket and when I got to the jewelry store it was gone. I've been scouring the place ever since' Peter confessed

'Oh, no!' said the older gentleman as he sat gingerly on the corner of Peter's desk. 'Have you told your wife?'

Peter shook his head, as if he was admitting to some terrible crime he'd committed.

'I don't blame you' said Eugene, his eyes full of empathy 'Once, I ruined a book my wife was reading – it was a first edition something or other and she'd left it in the bathroom where she'd been reading it. I accidentally knocked it into the tub and watched in horror as it floated in the water, totally destroyed'

'Did you ever tell her?' asked Peter, totally immersed in the story he'd just heard

'Hell, no!' said the man 'I lied for three months about not seeing it while I searched online for another copy – finally got one on e-bay for $1,200'

'Wow!' said Peter 'And you never confessed?'

'Are you crazy, man? She loved that book and the day she saw it sitting there just out of sight under the bed, where I'd cleverly planted it, her face lit up like a Christmas tree. You know what they say, happy wife, happy life!'

Peter listened and once again realized he was in deep shit!

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

'Mozzie!' Elizabeth repeated as he looked on, totally confused

Mozzie and Elizabeth had a warm and caring relationship which had continued to grow over the years but he'd never seen her quite so emotional in all the time he'd known her. Elizabeth Burke was one cool cucumber and it would have taken an awful lot to turn her into the blob of jelly that stood before him.

'What's going on? I got your 47 messages' he said as he pulled away to look at her face

He could see traces of tears on her cheeks and a totally frenzied look in her eyes – whatever it was that had happened had reduced the cool and collected Elizabeth Burke into a woman he barely recognized.

'It's Eddie!' she finally admitted 'He sent some men after me to get his money'

Mozzie led her to the island in the kitchen, setting her down and taking a seat next to her. Faithful Satchmo followed, sitting next to his mistress, ready to step in should those mean, nasty men make a return visit.

Mozzie had introduced Elizabeth to Eddie (no last name) three years earlier when she had begged for his help. Although Mozzie was not always a fan of Peter Burke and his limited (and straight laced) view of the world, he had begged El to tell her husband what was going on. Moving to the dark side – even to solve a pressing and immediate problem – was always a risky proposition and could come back to bite you in the ass at any time in the future. Mozzie had had dealings with Eddie for many years and he thought the man could be reasonable but the loan shark was exactly what he was: a loan shark. Certainly not someone who gave a rat's ass about the people he lent money to or their problems. He had ways of getting his investment back and Mozzie had warned Elizabeth that, should she default, he might not be the charming, although smarmy, guy he had introduced her to.

'But I thought you were making regular payments – every month' Mozzie said

'I am... I was. But... I've got a bit of a... a cash flow problem and...' her voice was halting, as she sobbed making it difficult for Mozzie to understand exactly what she was saying

'What? Are you saying you can't make your monthly payment?' he asked in a foreboding tone

She just nodded through her tears.

'How much of a cash flow problem?' Mozzie asked

She looked at him sheepishly, tears running down her face as she spoke: '$47,300'

'El!' he exclaimed as he watched her dissolve into tears once again

'And he sent some of his henchmen after you?' he asked, as if they were playing charades

She nodded again.

'Oh, El. That's not good' said Mozzie

'I know' she cried

'No, I mean. It's really not good. Eddie's not a very patient man and...' he hesitated before continuing, Elizabeth hanging on his every word.

'But you can fix this, right?' she asked, desperation in her eyes

'Well, that's just it. Eddie and I... we had a little falling out a few months back' admitted Mozzie as his mind began to spiral, realizing he could be of limited help to Elizabeth

'What?' exclaimed Elizabeth as tears returned, unbidden

He placed his hand on her back in a show of solidarity before he spoke.

'Did they hurt you?' he asked, solicitous

'No' she sobbed 'But they... they scared me. Mozzie, they came to the office and then...'

'What? What?' asked Mozzie as he saw the frantic look on her face

'They were here, Mozzie!' she exclaimed 'They were in my house!'

Mozzie looked on in horror as he thought of the men, rummaging through the Burke home, frightening his friend. He hadn't told Elizabeth everything – like the fact that he was existing on fumes himself, these days – but he took one look at her and all he could do was to somehow reassure her that things would be okay.

'Look, we'll find a way' he finally said

WCWCWC

Neal's mind was spinning out of control as he lay in bed watching Sara get ready to join him. His mind hadn't stopped reeling since his lunch meeting with Alex and he couldn't for the life of him get her or her present predicament out of his mind.

As always, he was trying to play both ends against the middle – trying to find a way to get his job done with the Bureau, satisfy the Sullivans and help Alex get out of the mess she was in – a tall order, indeed. The Sullivans had been in touch that afternoon asking for a meet the next day. They'd heard that Neal was in the market for some work and they had plenty of work for willing and qualified thieves. He knew that if he just thought long and hard enough, he would find a way to bring the Sullivans down and have Alex fulfill her contract with them so they could finally cut her loose.

If he'd been paying closer attention to his wife, as he should have instead of thinking about his ex-partner in crime, he would have noticed that she'd been rather distant all evening. He gave her a weak, unconvincing smile as he took in the sight of her changing into a t-shirt in preparation for hitting the sack. He looked her up and down, admiring how hot she looked no matter what she was wearing. He watched as she brushed her hair and turned to look at him, her face sombre and he wondered for a moment if he might have inadvertently done something to piss her off in the last twenty-four hours – something she actually _knew_ about.

'Anything wrong?' he asked as she finally made her way to bed and slipped in beside him

'You could say that' she answered cryptically as he frowned

He waited for her to continue, genuinely unaware of what could possibly be making her so annoyed.

'Neal, how could you not tell me that Hope flunked her math test?' she finally said

'What do you mean? She got a B' he responded, puzzled

'No, she didn't. I bumped into Mrs Hines at the grocery store and she went on and on about how Hope can still make up her failed test if she works hard for the rest of the semester' explained Sara

'What?' Neal asked again, totally shocked at what his wife was saying

'You mean you didn't know?' asked Sara, equally surprised

'No, how would I know? Hope said you'd signed off on the test' explained Neal

'Why, that little monkey! She told me _you'd_ signed off on it' responded Sara, her blood beginning to boil

If there was one thing both Neal and Sara insisted on from their children, it was honesty. They had always been supportive of their kids no matter what as long as they didn't keep things from their parents and came clean if they got themselves into any kind of trouble. Neal and Sara had had enough secrets and deceptions between them to last a lifetime and they both knew how destructive and dangerous lies could be in a relationship. They didn't want anything to stand between them and their children and they worked hard to be good models for them (most of the time).

'Why would she lie?' Neal asked. Despite his propensity for bending the truth, he had faith that those around him would be honest, especially his children.

Sara rolled her eyes. 'Neal, she knows how disappointed you would be if she didn't get to participate in the art show'

'Yeah, but...' he began, still taking it all in. Of course, he wanted Hope to do well and to pursue her passion for the arts but it was worrisome to think that she would anticipate such disappointment on behalf of her dad that she would feel compelled to lie.

He lay down and pulled Sara closer to him as he did every night as they prepared to sleep; he always saw things more clearly when she was in his arms.

'Look, I'll have a talk with her tomorrow - try to get to the bottom of it. Kids don't always think straight when they're in trouble' he said, remembering all the misdeeds of his youth and how he would have done just about anything to cover up his transgressions.

Sara began to relax as he spoke. She felt the same way as her husband – there was no problem or issue they couldn't work through when she was in his arms, safe and secure.

Neal's mind began to wander once again, back to Alex and her problems and he realized he desperately wanted everything to go away – including the burgeoning guilt he was feeling at keeping something from his wife. He brushed his lips against Sara's hair, taking in the smell of her and feeling a sudden and overwhelming urge to have her inhabit every fibre of his being so that he could momentarily forget everything that was so unimportant in his life.

He touched Sara's face, angling it towards his own and he kissed her deeply, desperately needing to focus all his thoughts and attention on her, just her, the one person who meant the world to him. His mouth began to seek her out more eagerly, moving towards her neck and down her shoulders hungrily, impatiently as he felt her begin to tremble beneath his touch. His arms enveloped her, pulling her in so tightly that she let out a small, surprised yelp.

'Neal, what's wrong?' she asked, concerned, as she felt the desperation radiating off of him.

'I love you so much, you know that, right?' he managed to say, his voice halting and breathless, torment tinting each of his words as he continued to pull her in fiercely, his mouth and hands moving at lightning speed over her entire body.

He felt an overpowering need to fill his mind, his soul, his body with Sara, leaving room for nothing else – the Sullivans, the case, Alex, the kids, his guilt. Nothing else mattered and this sudden and impulsive longing he felt for his wife washed over him like a ten foot wave and he wanted more than anything to drown in her touch, her smell, the sound of her voice, the feel of her skin.

'I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you...' he whispered, breathlessly as he sunk ever deeper in that wave, abandoning himself to this woman who was ultimately his reason for living. His mouth and hands continued their frantic exploration of her body as he moved down to her stomach, feeling like he couldn't move fast enough, starved as he was for her - his need for every cell in his being to be permeated by thoughts and sensations of Sara, his wife, his life partner.

As overcome as she was by the unexpectedness of Neal's fervour, Sara responded in kind, pulling him to her, enjoying the feel of his mouth and hands as they traveled down her body more intensely than she'd felt in a long time. She could sense her breathing becoming ragged and her body quivering with each touch as his fingertips and lips continued to brush her skin and he finally settled between her thighs as her breath caught in her throat.

'Sara... Sara... Sar..a... Sar...a, Sara... Sara' he moaned incoherently, totally immersed in the smells and sensations of her body firmly pressed against his.

Neal became increasingly aware of his growing need for release, his body trembling with intensity as his hands and mouth continued to move on her, covering every inch of her, their bodies finally coming together blissfully as one. In that moment, there was nothing else in the world but the two of them, their minds and bodies fused as they ultimately abandoned themselves to the release of their frenzied bodies. He held on for a long time, refusing to let the feeling end, not wanting to let his mind and body revert to their previous state of agitation and guilt.

Within moments, as they lay there totally spent, Neal's mind began to wander again and he realized that their idyllic intimacy would be nothing more than a charade if he didn't soon come clean about his deception.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Sara lay next to Neal, the sound of his breathing and the pounding of his heart finally relenting as he came out of his sudden and unexpected stupor. She had only experienced 'guilt sex' twice before, both times when Neal was keeping something from her and had begun to grow increasingly uneasy about his deception. One of those times, she hadn't even known he was keeping something from her until afterwards when he'd finally confessed; it was only then that she'd understood the intensity and total abandon with which he'd made love to her the night before. The second time, she had waited for it – she knew Neal had lied to her and was feeling guilt and remorse – and sure enough, he'd fallen apart in her arms, totally abandoning himself to her, hoping desperately to lose himself in her so he could momentarily forget his deception. The confession had come the next morning, to Sara's delight.

In years gone by, Neal Caffrey would have had very little difficulty – or remorse – deceiving those around him as long as it served his purposes. But that was a long time ago and that wasn't who he was anymore. Watching as those who were closest to him finally learned to trust him had taken a very long time and a lot of effort on his part and he hated to think about compromising that trust. Whenever he was tempted to mislead Sara, he would think back to his wedding vows and recall how he had promised to be a better man both for Sara and for Hope; that promise had continued to echo in his mind as the years had passed.

Sara had seen the evolution in her husband and although she wasn't the most patient or forgiving person in the world, she loved him and she couldn't deny the changes she'd seen over time in this wonderful man she loved so very much.

This time, she'd decided to wait patiently for Neal to come clean about Alex. She'd spotted the origami bird hidden in his suit jacket and she'd known instantly what its significance was. The colorful object's unexpected appearance combined with the faraway look in Neal's eyes and his aloof behavior had been dead giveaways. But she knew how her husband's mind worked and she'd been waiting for him to confess - or to totally fall apart in her arms, consumed by guilt and remorse. This time, she'd chosen not to confront him or berate him but rather wait for him to decide for himself when to confide in her. Sure, Sara had often chewed Neal out over the years for all kinds of perceived transgressions and he had learned over time that this was how Sara Ellis dealt with hurt and betrayal. But they had worked long and hard at not having any secrets and Sara believed in Neal; she knew he wanted to be a better man and she knew she needed to give him the time and space to do the right thing. She'd bide her time, she thought, and pray that he would eventually come clean.

She kissed his chest gently, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and she instantly felt his heartbeat start to speed up once again.

WCWCWC

The Brooklyn sky was clear and Elizabeth Burke lay there staring out at the crescent moon while she listened to her husband's steady drone as he snored peacefully next to her. She thought back to her discussion with Mozzie and the increasingly deep hole she had dug for herself. Mozzie had confessed that he was going through a dry spell and had no liquidity at the moment although he did have a stash of 'stuff' that he would gladly fence in order to help her out. The solution was not ideal, pulling her deeper down the road leading to illegal and immoral deeds; she reflected on how she was no better that the likes of Eddie whatsisname.

Somehow, Mozzie had managed to contact Eddie through an acquaintance of an acquaintance of an acquaintance and he'd agreed to meet with both Mozzie and Elizabeth the next day at her office to renegotiate the terms of their 'arrangement'. At least that was something; it meant that his two bullies would hold back and stop terrorizing her - at least temporarily.

How could she have been so stupid? Keeping secrets from Peter was not a good idea; that's why she never did. Except for this time. All because she was too proud to let him know she was unable to balance books to save her life. She turned in bed, gazing at the wonderful, honest man he'd always been and sensing a renewed wave of guilt; _he_ would never hold anything back from her and she deserved whatever happened to her for not having been honest with such a good and decent man. She noticed him flinching in his sleep, murmuring something about a rolling pin, of all things. She poked him in the ribs to bring him out of what seemed like a bad dream and he mumbled something and turned over, resuming his soft snoring.

She wished that all _she_ had to worry about was a damn rolling pin.

WCWCWC

Peter walked into the kitchen to find his wife baking apple pies, his absolute favorite. How did he ever get so lucky, he wondered, as he made his way over to place a peck on her cheek.

'Hi hon' she said, smiling as she sprinkled brown sugar on the pile of apples she'd just placed in the freshly rolled pie dough

'Mmmm. Apple pies! What do I owe this to?' he asked 'You haven't baked in an awfully long time'

'I just wanted my darling husband to know that I appreciate everything he does for me' answered Elizabeth with a warm smile on her face

The smell of cinnamon hung in the air and Peter took in a deep lungful as he smiled in satisfaction.

'Oh, honey. Did you pick up my ring today? It's been over a week' asked Elizabeth, as she continued to roll the pie dough

Peter stood immobile as if his feet were glued to the floor; the moment of reckoning was upon him although he had tried to convince himself that she would forget all about the damn ring. Who was he kidding? This was her wedding ring and she wasn't going to just let it go.

'Honey?' she repeated as she waited patiently for an answer to her question

'El... I...' Peter began, unsure how to confess his misdeed

'What is it honey?' she asked, suddenly concerned

'El, I love you so much' he said, tongue tied

'Peter, what did you do?' she asked, beginning to put two and two together

He stood there looking guilty as hell.

'Where's my ring, Peter?' she asked, becoming angry

'Honey, I'm sorry... I... I... I lost it' he finally said on the verge of tears

'WHAT?' Elizabeth screamed as she lifted the rolling pin over her head and ran around the kitchen island where Peter was still standing immobile

'NO!' he screamed 'Not the rolling pin!'

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his side just as the rolling pin – and Elizabeth – disappeared from view and he returned to a dreamless, peaceful sleep.

WCWCWC

Liam sat at the breakfast table looking down at his bowl of cereal with a long, gloomy face.

'How many more sleeps?' he asked of his mom who sat nearby sipping her coffee

Neal and Sara had decided that, as a consequence of having broken the rules at preschool, Liam would have to endure an entire week without his beloved video games. At three and a half, his games consisted mostly of matching words to pictures or games inspired by Disney movies (no violent games in the Caffrey home) but Liam loved his one hour of video games each day and he was waiting not so patiently for his punishment to be over.

'Honey, it's only been two days. Five more' said Sara with empathy

'Five?' Liam echoed, his voice loud as he looked at the five fingers of his hand

'This many?' he asked, raising his hand to show his mom

'Afraid so, buddy' she confirmed taking in the look of total desolation on her little boy's face

'But Caleb was mean and _he_ didn't get punished' said Liam

'Honey, why don't you want to tell us what he did?' asked Sara

She knew her little guy didn't have a malicious bone in his body and she couldn't understand what could have possibly happened to make him take his tiny, little fist and slam it in Caleb's face. If there were extenuating circumstances, she and Neal wanted to know about it. Although it was never appropriate to punch someone, doing it spitefully was totally different than, say, defending someone's honor.

'I can't' he said – just as he'd said about a dozen times before

'Why not?' she asked, touching his hand and looking into his beautiful green eyes, a mirror of her own

Liam looked around, noting they were alone before speaking

'I don't want to hurt Daddy's feelings' he finally whispered

'_Daddy's_ feelings?' Sara repeated 'Why would it hurt Daddy's feelings?'

'Caleb said bad things about Daddy' he confessed as he looked at his mom with a long, sad face

'What did he say?' Sara asked, suddenly worried as to the answer

'He said Daddy's a bad man and he was in jail' answered the little boy, tears streaming down his face

Sara let out a long slow breath as she opened her arms to hold her darling little boy. He melted into tears, letting himself be consoled by his mommy and Sara closed her eyes tight wondering how she was going to deal with this situation.

WCWCWC

Hope sat in the coffee shop sipping her hot chocolate and enjoying the full attention of her dad, sitting across from her. She loved spending time alone with Neal; they never had a shortage of things to talk about whether it be school, some painting she was working on or some movie they had watched together. The two of them were extremely close and always had been and Neal enjoyed spending time with his little girl whenever he could. Having two children was challenging in that way and Neal and Sara made a conscious effort to have some one on one time with each of their children as well as doing things as a family.

'I just don't think the ending was very believable' said Hope authoritatively as she looked at her dad

'Well, movies are like that, sweet pea, they like to tie everything up in a nice bow and give everyone a happy ending' responded Neal

'It's too bad real life is not like that' said Hope, looking thoughtful

'Oh, yeah? What's so terrible about your life, young lady?' he asked in jest

He had been attempting to get Hope to 'fess up about her deception without coming right out and confronting her. He, himself, was usually forthcoming when the time was right and he'd learned there was something to be said for coming clean – a feeling of release and liberation – and he wanted to give her the chance to tell the truth. He thought momentarily of the 'Alex situation' and the fact that he was misleading Sara; the deception was weighing increasingly heavy on his mind and he thought back to the desperation he'd felt the night before as he'd practically ravished her.

Hope just looked straight ahead, looking awfully guilty and Neal decided it was time to change tactics.

'So, are you excited about participating in the art show after Christmas?' he asked, his eyes alight

Hope's face began to wilt and she looked up at her daddy as tears began to fill her eyes. It was almost as if he knew what she'd done and as a novice liar, she immediately became overcome with guilt and remorse. She had not anticipated having to cover her deception in yet even more lies and she became overwhelmed with emotion as she looked at Neal, finally bursting into tears.

'Daddy, I did a really bad thing'

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

'So what are _you_ up to today?' asked Peter as he slipped into his usual weekend garb: a pair of old jeans and a well-worn t-shirt

'Um... Mozzie and I are going to meet for lunch' said Elizabeth, avoiding his gaze

'Oh yeah? Did you need me to come along?' asked Peter innocently – accent on the 'need'

He couldn't figure out how the two of them had ever hooked up or what El could possibly appreciate about spending time with the small time hustler and he always felt he should be protecting her from some con Mozzie might be trying to pull on her – although he had to admit to having an increasingly soft spot for the confidence man.

'You know, honey, I think Mozzie always gets nervous when you're around so...' she let the words trail, letting her husband fill in the blanks

'That's okay, I've got my 'honey do list' anyway' answered Peter, resigned to having to do some household chores

'Oh, and don't forget, we're going out to dinner with Neal and Sara tonight. That really nice place on 38th; you'll need to wear a suit' said El, as she chose one from their bedroom closet and placed it on the bed

'Awww!' uttered Peter, obviously disappointed – not at having to go out to dinner with their best friends but at the fact that El and Neal had obviously colluded to pick a place that was upscale enough for him to have to wear a suit. He wore one to work every day of his life and he looked forward to dressing down on weekends. He began to glance through his very limited collection of cuff links, something to match the shirt El was presently laying on the bed for him.

'Honey, where are those cufflinks you gave me for Christmas last year' Peter asked as he rummaged through the few pair he owned

Elizabeth flashed to the morning before when she'd been holed up in their closet, watching as the two thugs rummaged through their things. She'd seen one of the men grab something off of Peter's dresser and now she realized they'd probably made off with the gorgeous pair of sterling silver cufflinks she's given to Peter – a gift which she had paid entirely too much for.

'I don't know' she lied 'I haven't seen them in a while. Just pick something else'

'But, I like those...' Peter began

'Honey, I'm going to be late. Just pick another pair and we'll look for them later' she answered dismissively as she swept in to give her husband a quick kiss on her way out of their bedroom

She stopped on the other side of the door and leaned against the wall, taking a long slow breath. What a tangled web indeed, she thought, realizing how lies had a way of multiplying in order to cover up the original deceit. She wasn't very good at lying and frankly, it was not a skill she had ever aspired to perfect.

WCWCWC

Neal looked on as Hope began to fall apart in front of his eyes, feeling somewhat guilty at having manipulated his daughter into admitting what she'd done. He looked around, noticing that there were few people around; the last thing he wanted was for Hope to be embarrassed by having a major meltdown in a public place. He took her hand and waited for her to continue.

'I told you and Mommy a lie' she finally admitted

'What kind of a lie?' Neal asked patiently

'I didn't get a B on my math test' she said sheepishly as she finally looked up to see her dad's reaction

Neal just sat there in silence and waited, frowning as she spoke. He was secretly relieved that Hope was finally coming clean and he wanted to hear the whole story from her perspective.

'I flunked it, Daddy' she admitted

'Why didn't you tell us the truth?' Neal asked as he looked at his little girl, heartbroken

'Because I knew how much you wanted me to be part of the art show and now I don't know if they'll let me be in it' she answered, wiping her eyes as she spoke

'Hope, of course I was hoping you'd be in the art show. But I know you're doing your best and...' he began as Hope cut him off

'That's just it, Daddy. I should have studied more. Olivia tried to warn me but I didn't study the multiplication tables enough' Hope admitted

Neal just looked on, a mixture of empathy and disillusionment in his eyes. He let out a long sigh which Hope immediately interpreted as disappointment and she began to cry more loudly totally oblivious to the fact they were in a public place.

'Hope, Hope. Calm down' said Neal, unaware that there was still more to come

'There's something else, Daddy. I let Olivia sign your name on my test so you wouldn't see it' Hope confessed, in full blown confession mode

'Hope!' he exclaimed. This was a piece of the puzzle he'd known nothing about although this new piece of information shed some light on why neither he nor Sara had seen the flunked test.

Neal thought long and hard about how to react. He was about to lecture his daughter on the consequences of deceit, realizing full well the hypocrisy of such a reprimand considering the fact that _he_ was withholding the truth from the one person who trusted him the most. Still, he had a parenting role to play – he could berate himself later or better yet come clean – for now, he had to let Hope know that what she'd done was wrong and that there were consequences to lying to your parents.

'I won't tell you I'm not disappointed; I am. But not because you might not be in the art show; that's not important' he began

Hope sat in silence. She knew there would be some fallout from her deception but she somehow felt relief flood her as she listened to her dad's words. Now, there was no secret left between them and in its place there was only trust and love and she felt strangely liberated from the shackles that her deception had unavoidably imposed on her.

'Mommy and I trust you and Liam to be honest with us. We'll always love you no matter what it is you've done so you should never be afraid about telling us the truth. Hope, everybody makes mistakes; I've told you about some of the mistakes I made when I was younger. But it's what we do to fix those mistakes that's important' he said, feeling pretty good about how he was handling the situation

Hope nodded as she listened, looking very repentant.

'I'm sorry' she said simply

'You're going to have to tell Mom about this and then she and I will decide what your punishment will be' he added, sternly

Even though Hope knew that she was about to do penance for her misdeed, she smiled at her dad through her tears, realizing that now, there was nothing but truth and honesty between them. He smiled back, unable to help himself.

WCWCWC

Neal walked into the house with Hope in tow, realizing with concern that it was past two o'clock and that his meeting with the Sullivan clan was in less than an hour.

He and Sara exchanged looks as they both uttered the same phrase, to each other's surprise.

'We need to talk' they both said in unison

'Later' added Neal 'I've got to get to my meet with the Sullivans' he said as he ran up the stairs to change into some more 'thiefy' looking clothing, something slick and slimy which would inspire scum like the Sullivans to believe he was still working for the dark side.

Sara took a deep breath. She and Neal had discussed the case and she knew Neal had a meeting with the mobsters but she couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't really going out to meet Alex. She swallowed hard; it was taking a long time for him to tell her the truth and with each passing minute, she was getting closer and closer to confronting him, yell at him, accuse him of lying. She needed to hang on a little bit longer. If he hadn't said anything by the time they went to bed, she'd decided she would confront him and she knew that by then, she wouldn't be very kind or understanding.

Neal returned within minutes wearing a leather jacket, some dark jeans and with his hair slicked back – his usual smarmy disguise. When you looked like Neal Caffrey though, you always looked good even when you were going for 'creepy' and Sara admired his tight little ass as he headed for the door. He gave her a small wave and, blowing her a kiss, he disappeared from sight.

WCWCWC

Mozzie had agreed to swing by and pick Elizabeth up so they could go to their meeting. Peter opened the door to find the bespectacled man standing there, the obligatory scarf around his neck and a corduroy jacket over a non-descript shirt and a pair of jeans. Mozzie's choice of clothing was always very eclectic and no matter what he wore, he seemed to have a need to defy society's conventions, giving the whole world the finger and being his own man.

'El! Mozzie's here' Peter called up the stairs

'So, where are you two headed today?' Peter asked as he stood in the doorway. He didn't like Mozzie roaming around the house unaccompanied; he preferred to keep him corralled in the front hall where he could keep an eye on him although he knew that when he wasn't home, El had him over frequently for tea and stimulating conversation (on what topics, he couldn't possibly fathom).

'It's a surprise' answered Mozzie, which was the truth considering they weren't going to lunch at all

'Mozzie, hi!' El's voice floated down the stairs. She was dressed for work, a smart looking two piece skirt and jacket and Peter gave her a smile of appreciation as he took in her long legs atop her four inch heels.

He bid them goodbye, returning to the garbage disposal which was in sad need of repair... the joys of home ownership, he reflected.

'I am so nervous' Elizabeth said as they climbed into her car

'It's going to be fine, El. I have a large selection of items I can offer him and if he really wants cash, I can fence a lovely but lesser known Manet for at least five grand' Mozzie answered, trying to sound reassuring.

Truth was, he was not looking forward to crossing paths with Eddie again. As a matter of fact, Eddie's name was scrawled in big bold letters on Mozzie's grudge list – the one he not-so-secretly kept on his person at all times. He would wait until the opportunity presented itself and he would plot his revenge against those who had done him wrong over the years (or those whom he _perceived_ to have done him wrong). The list of potential targets seemed to be growing longer every year, in direct proportion to Mozzie's growing disillusionment with the world and pretty soon, he was going to need more than a few sheets of paper to hold the ever growing list. In the case of Eddie, he'd recently given Sara a lead on a painting he thought the man was attempting to fence. He'd have to remember to tell Sara to hang on until this whole mess was over with before she went after him; he certainly didn't need to be in Eddie's bad books until Elizabeth's business with him was all squared away.

They made their way into Manhattan, both of them lost in thought – Mozzie hoping he could satisfy Eddie with his offerings and El mostly lost in thoughts of guilt and remorse at how she was 'handling' her own husband. He didn't deserve to be deceived and she wondered once again if she shouldn't come clean about the mess she'd gotten herself into.

They continued in silence and arrived at Burke Premiere Events, parking directly in front of the storefront.

WCWCWC

Neal made his way to a secluded office in Brooklyn, not terribly far from the Burke home. It was the rendez-vous point for his meeting with the Sullivans, although he had no idea who exactly he was going to be meeting. He looked around, getting his bearings, wanting to make certain he wasn't walking into some dangerous situation – well, more dangerous than meeting members of a renowned crime family, that is. He wondered if there would be any mention of Alex and her part in their plans. He hadn't talked to her since he'd met her for lunch but he'd promised to see what he could do to help her out – without putting himself or his family at risk.

Truth was, he was still trying to figure out how he could possibly do that and still bring down the Sullivans.

There was always another way.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Peter finished up his second cup of coffee and had just begun to straighten up the kitchen when it occurred to him that he hadn't given the house the full once over on his frantic search for El's ring. After all, this was where the whole sordid story had begun, the place where Elizabeth had reluctantly taken off her wedding ring and handed it to him for safe keeping. What if it had fallen out of his ripped pocket even before he'd left the house that morning?

He thought briefly of the dream he'd had, realizing he'd never look at an apple pie quite the same way again and he began to retrace his steps from that fateful morning earlier in the week. He remembered that El had taken off her ring as she sat on the edge of the bed up in their bedroom. He had already been fully dressed at the time and he recalled grabbing a couple of tissues from the bedside table to carefully wrap the ring in, depositing it delicately in his right jacket pocket.

Peter climbed the stairs, two by two, arriving in the bedroom and immediately diving onto his poor, old, weathered knees in order to start foraging around and under the bed for the coveted item.

Nothing.

Satchmo watched his master on all fours with interest, his tail wagging furiously in unrestrained joy. Surely this must be some new game he wanted to play and he stuck his wet snout in Peter's face, eliciting a groan from the FBI agent as he promptly pushed him away. So much for reading the signs, thought the dog. Peter got to his feet, moving carefully around the room, taking in every inch of every surface – after all, wasn't this was Agent Peter Burked did better than anyone else, search for clues to solve a crime. Only this time, he was the criminal, the one who had inadvertently stolen the precious ring from his beloved wife. His search turned up nothing but some clumps of dog hair, compliments of Satchmo and a stray earring from a pair he never remembered seeing El wear – probably because she only had one left!

He continued his investigation in the bathroom, back in the hallway and he finally made his way downstairs, eyes searching as he went. After thirty minutes of thorough exploration, Peter flopped down on the couch, dejected, as he realized the ring was simply not there. It could be anywhere between the house and office, probably scooped up by some passerby on a busy street, he realized with sadness. He was going to have to come clean with Elizabeth; he sure as hell wasn't going to wait for her to stand there with a rolling pin in her hands, asking him about where the precious ring was. He would have to pick the perfect time to tell her and make damn sure he had a brand new (and even more beautiful) ring in his hand ready to put on her finger.

He walked into the kitchen, glancing briefly at the broken down garbage disposal and instead of tending to it, he opened the refrigerator door, grabbing a beer in one swift motion. He turned away defiantly, returning to the living room, turning on the television set and putting his legs up on the couch. There was only one thing that could make him feel better; thank God the Rangers had an afternoon game.

WCWCWC

'Caffrey, your reputation precedes you' said Shawn Sullivan as he introduced himself and shook Neal's hand

Neal took the man in – well dressed, early forties, looking quite dapper for a crime syndicate family member. A younger man stood next to him, looking like he might be learning the ropes and following in the illustrious family's footsteps.

'This is my nephew, Max' said Sullivan as he introduced the young man who couldn't be more that 20 years old and looked terrified to be there

Neal nodded in response, trying to keep an air of mystery about him. The young man looked absolutely out of his league, standing there awkwardly, next to his uncle. Neal wondered if this poor hapless youngster knew what he'd been born into and he momentarily felt sorry for the kid who would undoubtedly be pulled into the underworld crime scene against his free will.

'I hear you're in the market for some help' Neal said as the three men sat in what was obviously a very temporary office

A desk, a couple of chairs and some sundry 'mystery' boxes littered the small space which had obviously been rented hastily to give them some meeting space, away from prying eyes.

'Well, we hear you're the best at what you do and that you're open to new 'projects' said Sullivan

'I am indeed, if it's the _right_ project' said Neal as he looked the man up and down

'Well, I think you'll find we can be very generous when we're satisfied with the services we acquire' said Sullivan

'So, what's the job, exactly?' Neal asked, cutting to the chase

'Well, we have a couple of items we wish to acquire from a couple of local museums and we have access to some manpower, although no one of your, ahem, 'caliber' the man answered to Neal's delight

Even after all these years, Neal still loved it when his talents and skills were recognized as the best – after all, they _were _the best. He knew it and everyone else knew it. He'd acquired a reputation on all five continents and he'd proven he could be cunning and clever while getting results. Of course, in his heyday, Neal would never have considered carrying out a job for someone else. Why take the risk if you couldn't fully benefit from the fruits of your labor?

Neal sat and listened. He didn't want to look overeager and he briefly thought of Alex who would be none too pleased to hear someone refer to him as the master thief and forger he'd been; she liked to think of herself as being in the same league although everybody knew Neal had always been the mastermind behind the jobs they'd ever carried out over the years.

'So, we're looking to offer you a very lucrative contract to oversee the thefts and to 'liaise' with the fences after the fact' Sullivan said without batting an eye, as if he were discussing some above-board business dealing

'Oh yeah?' Neal finally said 'How lucrative?'

'We're looking at 15% of the fenced value...' Sullivan began before being interrupted by a loud scoff coming from the ex CI

Neal rose in an attempt to show his displeasure and Sullivan immediately spoke up again.

'Tell me then, what would it take to secure your services?' he asked, trying not to look too keen

Neal stood confidently, puffed up like a peacock, cockiness oozing from every pore in his body as he spoke.

'You expect me to take all the risk and walk away with 15% of the profits' he said, his voice dripping with arrogance

'Well, I am authorized to negotiate' explained the man as the youngster looked on totally overwhelmed by the discussion

Neal stood his ground, signaling he was listening but was most certainly not convinced as to the merits of the proposition.

'After all, we've scoped the targets, done all the preliminary work, checked out security systems, the best windows of opportunity' continued Sullivan 'That's worth a lot. All you have to do is sweep in and carry out the actual job'

'Yes, and be the one left holding the bag if it all goes south' said Neal with assurance

'It won't. We've done our work. But we do lack the talent to actually carry out the job – that's where you come in'

'Make me a better offer' Neal said, authoritatively

'Alright, let's make it 20%' said Sullivan in a staring match with Neal, neither man wanting to show any sign of weakness

Neal laughed sardonically.

'Make it 25 or I walk out right now, leaving you with nothing' Neal declared, defiant

Shawn Sullivan looked thoughtful for a moment then stood up suddenly, putting out his hand towards Neal.

'Deal!' he said with finality as Neal relented and reached out to shake the man's hand

'So, who are these 'trainees' you want me to work with?' Neal asked, hoping to hear the mobster's plans for Alex Hunter

'All in due time' said Sullivan 'We'll be in touch, keep your calendar open'

Neal nodded in acceptance; over time he'd learned that the more people talked, the more they showed their vulnerability. A nice, cold, stoic stare always conveyed a clear and confident message. He turned without a second glance and strutted out of the room.

WCWCWC

Elizabeth placed the key in the door of Burke Premiere Events as she held her breath. For all they knew, the loan shark might already be inside, lurking around. It wasn't the case, however, and she let out an audible sigh as she and Mozzie stepped into the office, turning on the lights in the small room. Mozzie was wearing an air of unusual confidence – all spurious, in fact. But for El's sake, he had to look like he knew what the hell he was doing and he silently wished Neal was standing next to him. His partner in crime was always been much better than he was at projecting an air of confidence in these types of situations but today it was down to him and Mozzie gave El a small encouraging smile.

'It's going to be fine' he said with fake conviction although Elizabeth was too terrified to pick up on the lack of self-assuredness

She smiled back nervously. He might be used to dealing with hoodlums but she most certainly wasn't and just as he had done a moment ago, she thought about her own support system and she silently wished she had strong, strapping Peter Burke standing next to her to defend her honor. Her honor? Really? Who was she kidding? She'd been deceitful and fraudulent and she didn't deserve the support of such an honest and loyal man. She pushed the thought away; she had to be strong for now and get through this meeting with a semblance of her pride intact – and all her limbs in one piece.

'Do you really think he'll go for taking some of your loot instead of the money?' she asked Mozzie as they continued to wait for the loan shark to make his appearance

'I don't know, El. But I do have a back-up plan. That painting is worth a lot and I've put feelers out to see if there's a market for it. But it might take a couple of days to get a bite' he cautioned

Elizabeth nodded as she realized with horror that she was suddenly well-versed in all this criminal vernacular which a few years ago would have seemed so foreign to her. How had she become embroiled in such a situation? Her pride, that's how. She wanted Peter to be proud of her and she'd taken great satisfaction in setting up the company and running it so successfully all those years. To have to admit that she didn't have very good judgement when it came to money matters was just too much for her damn, misplaced pride. Her talents lay in her people skills, her wonderful sense of style and her extensive knowledge of venues and other resources. Why, oh why hadn't she just hired a book-keeper all those years ago?

Mozzie looked at El fondly as he ran through the many scenarios which might be playing out imminently. She didn't deserve all this; she was good people and she deserved good things. He would make certain that no harm came to her even if he had to step out of his comfort zone to do it. He sure hoped Eddie was in a good mood. The man was notorious for flying off the handle at the slightest sign of a disagreement and he'd demonstrated that he did not have the patience when it came to people not carrying out his wishes. That was exactly what had put Eddie in Mozzie's bad books: his inability to be reasonable and to listen to other's points of view. He thought briefly of the conflict he'd had with the man the last time their paths had crossed and how he had finally given Mozzie the evil eye before leaving in a huff.

They felt a cool breeze as the door opened and suddenly, there stood Eddie with his two thugs on either side.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

El rummaged through her closet, trying to come up with an outfit to wear out to dinner although her mind was somewhere else altogether. She hoped that the arrangement she and Mozzie had arrived at would hold Eddie for a few days while Mozzie worked the details out. The man had hummed and hawed as Mozzie had shown him an assortment of items from his hidden stash although at one point, his eyes had lit up when Mozzie showed him that Manet he'd mentioned to El. She'd seen a fleeting look of what appeared to be regret in Mozzie's eyes at Eddie's reaction and once again, she realized that she'd unwittingly dragged one of her best friends into a most sordid affair forcing him to make some sacrifices – for all she knew, that painting could be hanging in one of Mozzie's safe houses, his pride and joy.

In the end, Eddie had declared that only cash would do and that the debt had now doubled since they'd last talked at which point Elizabeth had begun to protest only to receive a discreet yet firm kick in the shins as Mozzie urged her to shut up. Whatever the price, it needed to be paid and once this mess was sorted out, a solid financial plan had to be hatched if Burke Premiere Events was to live to see another day. Eddie had given Elizabeth 48 hours to settle her debt and Mozzie had scurried away to begin arrangements to fence a few choice items asap. Elizabeth did not want a repeat performance of what had happened earlier in the week with the two scoundrels carelessly snooping through their personal things in the sanctity of their own home. She thought of how Peter would be horrified to know they'd had such visitors in their house.

Satchmo barked as he looked up at his mistress, no doubt freaked out by the faraway look in her eyes. She gave him a loving pat on the head and returned to the task at hand, letting her hand rest on a pretty pale blue dress she liked and pulling it out of the closet. She made her way across the room with Satchmo following close behind and she placed the item on the bed, letting herself fall hard on the edge as her mind momentarily returned to the fateful 'meeting'.

Ouch, she realized as she sat on something hard. She turned to look at the spot where she'd let herself collapse and realized she was sitting on the edge of Peter's suit jacket and she got up to smooth in out, feeling something hard on the very bottom edge of the jacket.

Something hard... right inside the lining.

WCWCWC

'Are you alright?' asked Sara as Neal made an appearance in their kitchen, looking a little worse for wear

He walked over to Sara, giving her a weak smile and noticing how stunning she looked in a tailored little black dress and heels. He took her in his arms in an effort to obliterate the last dregs of the meeting with the Sullivans; although he always felt strangely invigorated when he went undercover, he loved the normalcy of his life and he held her close in an effort to ground himself. Sometimes, after visiting the dark side, Neal needed a reality check just to remind himself that he had indeed made the best decision of his life when he'd chosen Sara and his family over a life of crime. His wife's loving and welcoming arms were always the best way to bridge that uncomfortable chasm between his undercover life and his amazing real life.

'Yeah. I'm okay' he said as he squeezed her a little too tight

'Honey, it's almost time for you to get ready for dinner' she said, pulling away and seeing something, although she wasn't quite sure what, in his eyes

'Aww, I almost forgot about dinner' he said with a gentle smile on his face

'Mozzie will be here any minute to babysit and I told El we'd meet them at the restaurant for drinks by six' she reminded him

'I guess we'll have to talk about Hope later then, huh?' asked Neal, realizing it was not the time to get into a long convoluted discussion about what had happened earlier in the day

'We're going to have to' she agreed thinking back to her own conversation with their son, the essence of which she was going to have to share with Neal sooner than later

They were interrupted by the little guy who came running down the stairs, spotting his father and running over to him excitedly.

'Daddy!' he screamed with glee

His relationship with his dad was all puppies and rainbows and Liam looked up to his dad for guidance and support. He ran towards him, his arms open as Neal scooped him up and held him tight in his arms, another terrific reminder of his wonderful existence.

'Hey buddy!' said Neal holding him tight

'Why is your hair gooey?' the little boy asked as he gingerly touched Neal's gelled up hair

'Daddy had to pretend to be somebody else to help Uncle Peter on a case' answered Neal, giving him the abridged version. After all, his son was much too young to understand the intricacies of undercover work.

Sara watched in wonder as father and son connected in that easy-going way they had of being together. Neal adored his little boy and Liam had an unfailing admiration for his dad but she knew in that instant that that delicate balance might be upset in light of the revelations Neal would have to make to his son. He was going to have to give him some simplified version of his past and Sara hoped that Liam's undying admiration for his father wouldn't be a casualty of such a confession. Hope had been quite a bit older when Neal had finally talked to her about his criminal past and that was only after she'd accidentally found his old anklet in their bedroom closet. Liam was not even four years old and would have a limited understanding of what Neal had done in his indiscriminate youth. Sara looked on with concern as her little guy instantly changed the subject, squirming to get down from Neal's arms now that he'd gotten the hug he'd been looking for.

'Can we have pizza for dinner?' asked Liam

'You can talk to Uncle Mozzie about that' said Sara just as the front door was heard opening and Mozzie's voice drifted through the house

Neal gave Sara a small wink as he started for the stairs for a quick shower and change.

'Back in twenty minutes' he said to her as he gave Mozzie a brief wave hello on the way up the stairs.

True to his word, he returned looking spectacular in just under twenty minutes. Sara looked him up and down as he entered the room, dressed in a tailored shirt and slacks, no tie with a jacket hanging off his perfect frame. He looked good enough to eat and Sara had to temporarily push away that enticing thought as she realized they were standing in their kitchen surrounded by their children and the ever present Mozzie.

'I called us a cab' Neal said as he breezed in to say goodnight to the kids, kissing them one by one 'I thought we might want to have a couple of drinks'

Sara nodded in agreement as she reached for her coat and turned to give the babysitter some last minute instructions about bed time and acceptable snacks as Hope and Liam made the obligatory 'awww' indicating their disapproval of her instructions.

A car horn was heard and Neal and Sara made their way out the door to a nice dinner with their friends, oblivious to the fact that all four of them were playing a most dangerous game, the game of deception with the ones that meant the most to them.

WCWCWC

Elizabeth let her hand linger on Peter's suit jacket realizing something must have escaped from one of his pockets down into the inside lining of the coat and she began to examine the jacket looking for the spot where something might have slipped out. She ran her hand gingerly along the edge of the lining of his breast pocket, not finding any possible escape route and turning her attention to the outside pockets, she immediately felt a small tear in the sheer lining on the right hand side. She could feel the item, whatever it was, moving loosely along the edge of the coat and she pushed it along with her hand through the material until it reached the spot from where it likely had escaped. Ripping the lining a little more in order to get a couple of her adept fingers inside, she was finally able to reach the item, her eyes widening and her jaw dropping as she realized with shock that it was her wedding ring.

What was her wedding ring doing trapped inside Peter's jacket when he'd told her no later than two days ago that it was safely at Johnson's Jewelers getting cleaned and polished? She examined the ring, noting it had definitely not been cleaned and she began to go through some potential scenarios that might explain her most bizarre discovery. Had Peter lied to her? And if so, why? She heard a faint noise realizing it was her husband coming up the stairs and for a reason that wasn't clear to her, she opened the bedside table, placing (hiding) the ring inside. This little discovery required some investigating and she wanted to give Peter a chance to tell her what had happened.

'Hey, it's past five' Peter said as he began to take off his clothes and throw them in the nearby laundry hamper

'I'm going to jump in the shower' he added as he breezed out of the room towards the bathroom

Elizabeth looked on, her brow furrowed. What the hell was Peter playing at?

WCWCWC

'A cab was a good idea, honey' said Sara as she tucked into Neal's side

She'd been dreading telling him about her conversation with Liam and she wondered if the discussion wasn't best left to the drive home when both of them might be feeling a little more mellow. Neal would be devastated to hear that the reason their sweet little boy had intentionally punched another child was to defend his father's honor when in fact his dad had not behaved in a very honorable fashion.

Neal had always agonized about sharing his less than stellar past with his kids; ever since Hope had arrived, he'd worried about the moment when he would have to come clean about the terrible things he'd done in his youth and the fact that he had paid for his misdeeds with over four years of his life in a penitentiary. Of course, his crimes were all a matter of public record and he had decided from the start that he wanted to be the one to come clean, in his words, when the time was right. But he'd always thought he had a lot of time to figure it out and when, at the age of seven, Hope had discovered his anklet in his bedroom closet, he'd felt compelled to explain that he had worn it as part of a work release program. He'd given her the basics: that he'd made some poor choices when he was young and that he'd gotten caught and had been sent to prison. She had taken it in stride, hugging her dad as he explained that now, he worked with her uncle Peter at catching the bad guys. She'd never mentioned it again and their relationship had seemingly not suffered from the revelation in any way.

But Liam was so little and the words 'bad' person and 'jail' had very obvious connotations as was evidenced by his reaction on the playground and it would be difficult for Neal to explain things to him in simple language that would not leave their son totally disillusioned about his dad. Sara looked at Neal, seemingly relaxed, his arm protectively around her and she realized he did not deserve to be judged by his son; he'd been nothing but a loving, caring dad and she needed to find a way to support him through this new hurdle, no matter what.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

'Well, we were right' Neal said as he settled in next to Sara

They had a good twenty minutes in the cab before arriving at their destination and he had been waiting all day to fill her in on the conversation he'd had with Hope that morning.

'It didn't take much to get her to admit that she lied about her test score' Neal added

'What did she say exactly?' asked Sara, listening intently as he spoke

'She said she hadn't studied enough and that she'd gotten an F but she was too embarrassed to tell us. She thought I'd be disappointed if she didn't get to participate in the art show' Neal explained

Sara raised an eyebrow and looked knowingly at her husband. There was some basis in truth for that fear, she realized. Neal was so proud of Hope's artistic accomplishments and he'd inadvertently been putting pressure on her, not realizing the adverse effects his encouragement might have.

'Well, you _have_ been talking about the art show quite a bit. Helping her get her stuff ready... maybe she was feeling some pressure' Sara ventured, a thought that had also crossed Neal's mind

'I guess' Neal admitted reluctantly 'But still, it's no reason to lie to us. I told her that we would always love her and Liam, no matter what they said or did but that they always had to be honest with us'

The last few words stuck in his throat and he was so wrapped up in his own guilt that he didn't notice the knowing look in Sara's eyes as she continued to wait patiently for him to come clean about his own deception.

'But there's more' Neal added 'She got Olivia to forge my signature on her test so we wouldn't find out'

'You're kidding!' Sara said, disappointed. She wanted to say that the apple didn't fall far from the tree but she held back; Neal had done his penance for his crimes and he didn't need constant reminders of his not so illustrious past. He berated himself enough on that score as it was.

'Oh, Neal, we can't let her get away with that' she said instead

'Tell me about it!' Neal responded, thinking that as cons went this one was fairly mild but realizing it could lead to other much more serious transgressions if they didn't intervene right away.

'I told her she needed to tell you what happened and apologize to you and she promised she would make it up by Christmas' Neal said with a sigh

He hated doling out punishment of any kind but there were consequences to every action and _he_ knew that more than anyone else. He looked over at Sara for inspiration as far as a logical consequence for their daughter's actions; that was his wife's forte and they always worked hard at trying to find a consequence that was in line with the infraction.

'Well, she didn't 'fess up to me yet but she and Olivia studied most of the afternoon while you were out at your meeting. I say she needs to put in an extra half hour of study time every night and we ask for a meeting with Mrs Hines so she can explain herself' offered Sara

Neal nodded in agreement; the punishment seemed to fit the crime. Lessons were hard learned but not having consequences led to more serious infractions as he knew all too well; he did not want his children going down that path.

'By the way, how _did _the meeting go? You looked a little upset when you came back' Sara added, remembering her earlier suspicion that he might really be meeting with Alex

Neal let out a long sigh as he looked into her eyes, the surrounding city lights making them shine like emeralds.

'They hired me to oversee some thefts they're carrying out and to help fence some goods. Peter and I are going to talk about it later and see how he wants to work it' he said

'You look upset' Sara insisted

Neal shrugged as he pulled her in a little tighter. 'You know, every time I step into that world, I thank my lucky stars that I'm not a part of it anymore. You and the kids... I never want to lose what we've got' he said as he gave her a brief but heartfelt kiss on the lips. He thought again of Alex and resolved to find a way to help her that would not have a negative impact on his life; that was most assuredly where he would draw the line.

Sara kept waiting. She could feel him getting closer to telling her the truth. As unfortunate as it was, maybe when he found out about Liam's confession, it would spur him on to telling her what was happening with Alex Hunter; a girl could hope.

WCWCWC

Neal and Peter sat, huddled together, in the bar adjacent to the restaurant while Sara and El chatted nearby. They were waiting for their table and the couples passed the time filling each other in on the week's activities, everyone a little quieter than usual as all their secrets and the potential fallout of keeping them continued to haunt them.

The men were deep in conversation about the current case and Elizabeth took advantage of the distraction to lean in, whispering in Sara's ear.

'So, did you do anything about those pole dancing classes?' she asked, curious

Sara let out a giggle and Neal looked over briefly to see what was up before returning to his conversation with Peter.

'I did' answered Sara, her voice low 'I started last Tuesday night'

'And?' asked her friend, suddenly interested

'It was a lot of fun!' said Sara, suddenly animated 'I was a little uncomfortable at first but it's all very 'athletic' and there's none of the awkwardness I thought there'd be'

'Oh yeah?' said El 'Maybe I should have joined you'

'I even bumped into a neighbor, Myrtle Stevens – and she's well into her fifties' admitted Sara before continuing

'Oh, and I told Neal I'm attending your book club on Tuesday nights for the next few weeks so you need to cover for me' she added, realizing that keeping a secret was not an easy task

Elizabeth nodded. 'Okay, we're reading 'Gone Girl' in case he asks'

'He _did_ ask and I told him we were reading the new Stephen King which I happen to be reading so you'll have to lie about that too!' Sara said, suddenly concerned that the deception might be getting a little too complicated.

'Don't worry' El said, winking 'I've got your back!'

'So, what are you two whispering about?' Neal asked as he got up and made his way to stand behind his wife, giving her a warm hug

'Just girl stuff' Elizabeth answered, without missing a beat

WCWCWC

Dinner had been great – a good release from all the tension everyone had been feeling. The wine had helped in that regard and by eleven o'clock, Neal was pouring Sara into a taxi cab, glad they'd decided not to drive as he himself settled in, a little unsteady, by her side. Sara rarely over imbibed but she'd been having fun and he'd seen her laugh in a way he'd rarely seen which had brought a smile to his own lips. If he played his cards right, maybe he'd even get lucky when they got home – but not before he told her about Alex.

He'd decided the time was right and that Sara was sufficiently mellow to hear that his ex - and fellow con - was back in New York City. He wasn't going to tell her everything but he knew that Alex's presence was the part that was most likely to be of interest (or upset) his wife; as far as what his involvement might be in helping her out, he couldn't share what he didn't know so that wouldn't be lying.

They settled in, both of them giggling, and Sara slipped her arm around Neal's back tucking herself in under his arm, their bodies warm and snug against each other. She decided the time wasn't right to tell him about Liam's confession – she was feeling way too giddy and her mind was more focussed on how she was going to peel those clothes off her husband the minute they got into the house.

'Did you have a good time?' Neal asked as he looked into her glistening eyes

'The best' she answered, her voice unsteady as she let her hand slowly start to creep up Neal's thigh as if it had a mind of its own

He gave her a look that said 'Stop! But don't stop!' and she looked at him suggestively, biting her lower lip and making him lean even more towards the 'don't stop' side of the equation.

'Sara Ellis, we are in a city cab' he warned playfully as he momentarily looked up to see if the cab driver was paying any attention to them

'I know where we are' she whispered as her hand finally made it to its destination eliciting a small gasp from Neal who finally reached over and gently removed it, placing it further down his leg – not much better as it turned out since he was pretty far gone.

'Honey, I really don't want to kill the mood here but I do need to tell you something. Do you think you could hold that thought for just a minute?' he asked, caressing her hand gently to ensure it didn't start to stray

She nodded, her eyes unfocussed and licked her lips suggestively. Not helping, he thought as he soldiered on.

'I bumped into an old friend of mine this week and I didn't get a chance to mention it' he said, trying to sound casual but feeling his heart thumping in his chest as he spoke

This could go so many ways, he realized. The emotions that his little bombshell might elicit in his wife ran the gamut from anger and hurt to warmth and understanding. One never knew with Sara Ellis and that, strangely, was part of her charm.

'Oh yeah? You mean Alex?' she asked not breaking the connection between them

'You knew?' he asked, shocked

'I found that origami bird; it didn't take a genius to figure out where it came from' she said, her voice even and surprisingly, still flirtatious

'I know how you feel about her and I wasn't sure how to tell you...' Neal admitted

'Neal, we've talked about this before. I love you and I trust you but if you keep things from me it makes me wonder if I should' she admitted grudgingly

She _wanted_ to get pissed off but she just couldn't be bothered and instead she continued to stare into Neal's amazing blue eyes, her gaze dropping to his gorgeous mouth and all she could think about was how his lips would feel against her more than willing mouth.

Neal continued gazing at his wife, wondering why he had hesitated to tell her the truth. Maybe because Alex always brought trouble wherever she went or maybe because Sara had never quite forgotten the kiss she'd witnessed between him and Alex when she and Neal had first started dating. But that was so many years ago and Neal hoped that Sara didn't have any doubts as to his commitment to her and their family although jealousy was sometimes a tricky and long lingering emotion.

'I'm sorry. I just didn't want to upset you but I guess not telling you probably upset you more' he said

She gave him a 'duh, yeah' look which got them both giggling again.

'Right now' she said, her voice sultry '... all I want to do is to get you out of those clothes and into our bed but tomorrow, you're going to tell me why Alex is here and what she wants from you' she said, leaving no room for discussion

'Yes ma'am' Neal said as he took her hand and discreetly returned it to where she had placed it earlier

'Neal, how many times do I have to tell you, don't _ever_ call me ma'am' she whispered as she gave a small squeeze and moved in, forcefully bringing her lips to his.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17****  
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El stretched out in bed like a cat after its nap as she waited for Peter to finish up in the bathroom and make his way to bed. She had really enjoyed their night out with the Caffreys, especially the chance to catch up with Sara. They didn't get together nearly as often as they should these days what with work and the kids.

She remembered her ring in the bedside table and reached for it, placing it on her finger with a lingering smile on her face. She'd felt naked without it and somehow, it made her feel even more connected to Peter when she had it on her hand. She thought again about what possible reasons Peter might have had to lie to her, and the only thing that made any sense, in light of the current circumstances, was that he had somehow thought he'd lost it and wasn't sure how to tell her about it. Poor Peter! If that was the case, he must have been really worried to actually lie to her; except for not sharing details on certain cases, she couldn't remember Peter ever having deceived her. It was time to put him out of his misery, she thought, as Peter appeared in the doorway looking eager and energized.

Elizabeth had been giving him all the 'right signals' on the way home, caressing his hand as he drove, speaking softly and lovingly and he'd taken extra care to brush his teeth and put on what he knew to be her favorite sleep pants, the silky ones that slipped off so easily... She gave him a welcoming smile, pulling back the covers and putting out her arms for him, an invitation he willingly accepted as he slipped in beside her.

'That was fun tonight, wasn't it?' he said as El curled up against him

'Yeah, except you guys had said you wouldn't talk about the case' she said, grudgingly

'Well, Neal could be called in by the Sullivans anytime and we wanted to get our strategy worked out' answered Peter, not wanting to break the mood and giving El a gentle kiss on the neck

'Mmmm' she responded, placing her hand on his face to bring it closer to hers

And that's when Peter spotted it. Plain as day on her finger.

'What...' he began as he took in the look in her eyes

'Honey, do you want to tell me what this is all about' she asked sweetly as she held out her hand for him to see

'What... Where...' Peter mumbled as he took in the sight of the ring

'I found it in the lining of your jacket' she explained

'Oh, my God, El! You have no idea... I've been searching everywhere for that thing' Peter finally admitted, returning to his senses

'Why didn't you tell me?' asked El, patiently

'Oh, El. You would have been so upset and I thought eventually, I'd find it' he explained as he searched her eyes to see if she was angry – or to see if she would pull out a rolling pin from under the bed

'Honey, you should have told me. Things happen. I know that' she said, smiling lovingly

She, more than anyone, knew that things happened and there was one giant 'thing' that she'd been keeping from her husband for days now – actually much longer – so who was she to give him a hard time for such a small indiscretion, especially since his intention had been to keep her from getting upset.

'I just didn't want you to be upset' he answered, his touch lingering on her face

'Well, I'm just glad I've got it back, that's all' she said, looking down at the ring once more with relief

'Come here, you silly man!' she added as she pulled him in to her with a long, drawn out kiss

It was Peter's turn to smile.

WCWCWC

Sara turned in bed and forced one eye open which as it turned out, was pretty painful. She spotted Neal, lying on his side with his head propped up on his elbow looking down fondly at her.

'Well, good morning Gypsy Rose' he said with a naughty smile on his face

She frowned and even that small movement made her head ache as the events of the night before slowly began to come into focus. She remembered it all but it was shrouded in a haze of good Italian wine. She gave her husband a quizzical look at the nickname he'd just used as everything suddenly came flooding back.

When they'd finally made it home, after she'd actually groped her husband in a taxi cab (did she really do that?), she remembered making sure that the kids' bedroom doors were closed and that their's was locked before she'd begun to manhandle Neal, practically ripping his clothes off as he gladly surrendered to her sudden yet welcome attack. She had a faint recollection of pushing him down on the bed and watching his surprised face as she'd begun to strip off her own clothing, slowly and suggestively, dancing provocatively to some song from her pole dancing class playing in her head. She had never actually stripped for her husband as far as she could remember. After all, it took a lot of confidence (or wine) to stand there in front of the man you love and reveal yourself, inch by inch, unhurriedly while he lay there, obviously enjoying the show. And enjoy it he did apparently from the look she remembered on his face as she removed every stitch of clothing and dropped it unceremoniously on the floor nearby – something Neal had never seen his wife do, considering her respect for the high end clothes she favored.

She remembered Neal finally getting impatient and grabbing her mid-move, pulling her down on the bed and finally having his way with her, Sara giggling as he began to grope like some teenager let loose at a peep show.

'Where the hell did you learn to do that and why haven't you done it before?' she remembered him whispering as his hands began to move against her

The rest was a mere hazy recollection but she guessed by the current look on Neal's face as he continued to gaze down at her, that the result had been more than satisfying.

'I would _love_ a repeat of that little number from last night' Neal whispered as he kissed her nose 'but I heard Liam moving around out there so I better get going on breakfast. You can lie here for a while and recover from your... performance'

She frowned again – ugh, she thought as she remembered a particularly daring manoeuvre; that might be sore this morning.

Her mind turned to Liam. She still hadn't told Neal about her conversation with their son and she definitely needed a coffee or maybe even six before she could share that with her husband in any coherent fashion. She looked up at him, slightly embarrassed as more details from her little performance began to form in her hazy mind and Neal gave her one last lustful look before he dragged himself out of bed.

He could hear Liam moving around outside their bedroom door, probably waiting for his dad to make an appearance – after all, both kids were thankfully very respectful of the closed door policy instituted by their parents although it had taken a couple of unfortunate incidents before getting them to adhere to the new rule. Neal opened the door, finding Liam standing right there, his ear apparently right up against the door.

'Liam!' cried Neal, surprised to find him there 'What are you doing?'

'I was listening to see if you were getting up' he said, looking up at his dad

'Buddy, you don't listen at the door! Mommy and I close our door when we want some time for just the two of us. You sticking your ear against the door kind of defeats the purpose' Neal said, taking his son's hand and walking towards the staircase

'You want to help me make some pancakes?' he asked as they started down towards the kitchen

Liam nodded enthusiastically. He loved spending time with his dad no matter what they did together. They arrived in the kitchen and Neal did a double take as he spotted Mozzie snoozing on the hide-a-bed in the family room.

'Moz!' he yelled out in surprise as his friend lifted his head reluctantly, grabbing for his glasses nearby

'I totally forgot you'd slept here' said Neal, walking over to get the coffee started

'That was obvious last night' said Mozzie, cryptically as he dragged himself unenthusiastically out of bed

'What time is it, anyway?' he added, obviously displeased at having his beauty sleep interrupted

'The time people who have kids get up on a Sunday morning' answered Neal, deadpan

The men joined forces and began to get things ready for breakfast, the usual eggs, bacon and pancakes and Liam looked from his dad to his godfather, obviously pleased to be part of the 'guy's club'. By the time Sara and Hope made it downstairs, everything was laid out on the table ready to be eaten and the place smelled great. Sara made a direct beeline for the coffee pot, frowning at the other offerings as she rubbed her back absent-mindedly. Neal watched with interest; he knew exactly which move had caused that twinge.

Hope sat eating in silence. Ever since her little talk with her dad, she'd seemed more thoughtful and quiet; she was waiting for the verdict on her punishment and was hoping it wouldn't be too severe.

'What's everybody up to today?' asked Mozzie unaware of all the unsaid things floating in the air

'Well, I thought I'd head over to the hardware place and see if I could pick up a few things for the Christmas contest' said Neal, looking at Liam 'You want to come along, buddy?'

Liam nodded, a big smile on his face. Having his dad one on one wasn't always possible and he loved it when he had the chance to have his undivided attention.

The troops dispersed, leaving Mozzie and Neal to clean up – something Mozzie had learned was part of the deal if he was going to spend half his life (and most of his meals) with the Caffrey family. They had just gotten a start on rinsing the dishes when Mozzie spotted the book lying on the kitchen counter.

'You reading 'Revival'?' he asked, pointing to the new Stephen King novel

'No, Sara is. It's for your book club – aren't you part of that group?' Neal asked, absent-mindedly as he continued to work

'Yeah. But we're not reading this, we're reading 'Gone Girl' he answered

'Are you sure?' Neal asked, his curiosity piqued

Mozzie gave him an eye roll. 'I think I know what book we're discussing at _my own_ book club!' he said, indignant

'Well, technically, isn't it El's book club?' asked Neal, intrigued

Why would Sara lie about what book they were reading... unless she wasn't really going to El's book club. His always suspicious mind began to roam wondering what Sara could possibly be hiding that would necessitate a lie about something so innocuous. If she was hiding something, he would find out; he was as skilled at unearthing other people's deceptions as he was at keeping his own secrets.

Liam came down, dressed and ready to go, his clothing slightly askew, his shoes untied – obviously a DIY job.

'Daddy, I'm ready' he announced proudly

'Whoa, give me a minute, buddy! I've got to run up and take a shower. Why don't you help Uncle Mozzie finish up with the cleaning?' he said as he glanced over at his friend

WCWCWC

Neal was sitting on the edge of the bed, putting on his socks when Sara walked in, towel around her body, looking very hot – but feeling pretty sore.

'Feel better?' asked Neal as he looked her up and down

She shrugged. It would take a lot more than a hot shower to get rid of all those kinks that were popping up – so much for being 40 and acting like she was 20.

She sat next to Neal and took his hand, suddenly serious and he looked over at her puzzled

'What?' he asked

'Neal, yesterday Liam and I had a little talk and he finally told me what happened with Caleb earlier this week. You need to hear this'

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Neal looked over at his wife and held his breath, waiting for her to continue. Whatever Liam had told her had obviously been unexpected and seemingly upsetting if he judged by the look on her face.

'What did he say?' asked Neal, apprehensive

'Apparently, this Caleb kid's got some nasty, gossipy parents' she began, not quite sure how to break the news

Neal waited as she stopped and looked at him.

'This kid told Liam that you were a thief and that you'd gone to jail' she finally said reluctantly

Neal stared at his wife in disbelief. As far as worse case scenarios went, this was possibly at the top of the list for the ex-con. He knew the moment to come clean to Liam would inevitably arrive but, as had been the case with Hope, he'd expected it would happen later, not when his son was just three years old. He shook his head in disbelief as Sara squeezed his hand in a show of support.

'Honey, you knew this day would come' she said sympathetically

'Yeah, but... Sara, he's three; what could I possibly tell him that he could understand without him thinking I'm some sort of a... fraud' Neal said, his voice quiet as the full impact of the revelation hit home

'Neal, you're not a fraud. You're an amazing dad and you've been there for me and the kids since day one' she answered, her eyes seeking his

Neal gave her a weak, unconvinced smile as he raised his eyebrows in scepticism. He was terrified that this knowledge would somehow alter the amazing, uncomplicated relationship he had with his son – the little boy who always looked up to him as if he could do no wrong. His kids were his world and his deepest fear when it came to them knowing the truth about his past was that it would somehow destroy their trusting and loving relationship.

'Honey, look at Hope. She's never mentioned it again and she never for one minute stopped thinking about you as her strong, wonderful daddy. It'll be the same for him' Sara said in an attempt to bring her husband out of his funk

Neal shook his head. 'Hope was almost seven years old when I told her about it and she was more interested in how the anklet worked'

'I know you'll find the words to explain this to him. Just keep it simple – no details, just the basic truth and how you've learned from your mistakes. He can relate to _that_' Sara said lovingly

She hated to see Neal like this – he'd done his penance years ago and he'd deserved to have a fresh new start. He was not the man he'd been back then; he'd evolved into a loving, caring husband and father who put the needs of his family ahead of his own and she couldn't stand seeing him continually suffering for the misdeeds from his past.

Neal just continued staring into space, looking forlorn and lost.

'Do you want me to be there when you talk to him?' she asked as she put an arm around him and began to gently rub his back

Neal shook his head. 'No, I'll do it. We're going out to the store – I'll see if the time is right...'

'Just be casual about it – you're his daddy and he loves you. That's not going to suddenly change in an instant' Sara said bringing her face to his and giving him a small kiss

Neal nodded, resolute. He'd find a way – after all, they didn't call him Mr. Silver Tongue for nothing. Although he'd never hesitated to con his marks back in his heyday, this was his son and it mattered very much what the little boy thought of him. But, someday, Liam would be angry and disappointed if Neal didn't tell him the truth, starting now so Neal leaned over, putting on the sock he was still holding in his hand and rising resolutely to stand by the bed. He looked down at Sara, still sitting there dripping from her shower and gave her a small nod.

'We'll be back in a little while' he said as he headed down to join his son

WCWCWC

'Studying again!' said Sara as she glanced over at Hope, hunched over the kitchen table

Hope nodded without looking up. Although she suspected her dad had spilled the beans, she still hadn't come clean _or_ apologized to her mom. Sara reached into the kitchen cupboard, grabbing some Tylenol for her throbbing headache and sat down next to her daughter, waiting for the inevitable confession.

Hope could feel her mom's eyes boring into her and after a few uncomfortable moments, she looked up, her eyes full of tears.

'Daddy told you, didn't he?' she finally asked

'Daddy and I tell each other everything' said Sara (except for a few choice exceptions, she thought, as she recalled they hadn't finished their conversation about Alex)

'I'm sorry, Mom' said Hope, her voice choked 'I was afraid you'd be mad at me'

'Well, of course I'm mad at you! But I'm even angrier that you lied about it!' said Sara, her voice louder than it probably should have been

Hope, like her mom, was fiery and head strong and she didn't cry easily but her mom's sudden outburst spurred her on and that, combined with the guilt she'd been feeling, brought on an avalanche of tears that were totally unexpected by both mother and daughter.

'Sorry, honey. I didn't mean to raise my voice like that' Sara admitted, suddenly feeling guilty for not modulating her voice and cursing her damn headache once again

Hope just shrugged; she knew she more than deserved the rebuke and she prepared for what was likely the announcement of her punishment for her lack of judgement and her dishonesty.

'Daddy and I decided that you needed to explain things to Mrs Hines and that you need to put in an extra half hour of math homework every day until Christmas' Sara explained, her voice calmer

'Okay' said Hope resolutely. Frankly, she'd expected nothing less and she was so anxious to put this whole incident behind her that she would have complied to any punishment her parents might have come up with, no questions asked.

'Daddy and I will meet you after school on Monday so we can talk to Mrs Hines' added Sara

Hope looked at her pleadingly – the humiliation of having to come clean to her favorite teacher did not appeal to her in the least and she opened her mouth to protest. She immediately thought better of it as she spied the determined look in her mother's eyes and she simply nodded in agreement. It was part of a logical consequence for what she'd done and even Hope realized that.

'Now, finish up your homework and I'll take you out to lunch' Sara said, giving her a small kiss on the forehead

WCWCWC

'Daddy! Look at that one!' said Liam, pointing to a huge Frosty in the store's Christmas display

It was late November and the stores were filled with decorations, tempting unsuspecting customers as they went about their Christmas shopping. Meadowbrook Street in White Plains had the long-standing tradition of holding an annual home decorating contest, a competition which appealed to Neal's competitive streak and he'd been happily taking part in the contest every year since they'd bought their house. The neighbors would compete to win bragging rights as the best decorated house on the street and Neal had plunged in head first trying to outdo all his neighbors – especially his buddy, Jeff Mason, who was his main competition. Neal had actually won the previous year, thanks to some help from Jeff and a couple of guys down the street. He'd had an unfortunate run in with the sharp end of a knife the year before and he'd been recuperating as Christmas arrived. Sara had forbidden him from doing any physical work and thankfully some neighbors had come to his rescue and helped him to get the house festively decorated. This year, he needed to show everyone he could do it all on his own – which is how Neal preferred to work anyway.

He absentmindedly picked through a display of Christmas lights, his mind focussed on various possible scenarios as he prepared to broach the subject of his past with his young son. He looked over at him, sitting in the cart – as he'd insisted on doing even though he was getting much too big for it – and noticed the carefree look on his little boy's face as he took in his surroundings. He hoped that by the time he finished having his heart to heart, that carefree look would still be firmly in place.

'What do you think of these?' Neal asked as he held up some lights 'They blink'

Liam nodded, a big smile on his face, as he took the item from his dad and placed it behind him in the shopping cart.

'So' Neal began – it was time to take the plunge. 'Mommy told me about what happened with Caleb'

He noticed Liam's eyes looking away, the little boy still unaware that there was any truth to the terrible rumors he'd heard. He was obviously uncomfortable about his dad finding out what had happened.

'Liam, what you did was wrong but I know you punched him because you thought he was telling you a lie about me' Neal continued as his son listened intently

Liam raised his eyes and looked into his daddy's baby blues as the man continued with his confession.

'It wasn't completely a lie, though. I did do some bad things when I was younger and I got caught' he explained

Liam looked puzzled for a brief moment as he tried to compute the term 'bad things' and suddenly his face became illuminated as he finally got the gist of what his dad was saying and like any normal three year old, he related it to himself.

'You mean like when I broke Grandma June's vase?' asked Liam, remembering the incident when he'd gotten excited and accidentally knocked over one of June's favorite heirlooms

'Yeah' Neal responded '... and we gave you a time out so you could calm down and think about it'

He looked at his son, deep in thought, as he recalled the consequences of his actions that day.

'But the things _I_ did were grown-up bad things and when you're a grown-up, instead of being sent to your room for a time out, they put you in jail if you do something bad' Neal explained, the words coming more easily now

Liam listened, his eyes wide.

'So I had to go to jail until I promised to stop doing those bad things and then, they let me come out' he explained, his heart beating so hard he could feel it pounding in his chest

'Did you have to stay in jail more than this many?' Liam asked, holding up the five fingers of his right hand

'Yeah, buddy, more than that many' said Neal with a small smile 'But the one thing I need you to know is that I'm never going back to jail. You _never_ have to worry about that, okay. I will always be here if you need me' he said, his tone surprisingly reassuring

Although he'd been listening intently, the little boy was suddenly distracted by something on the store shelf and he became excited.

'Daddy, can I have that?' asked Liam as he pointed to a box of candy canes nearby

In that moment, Neal realized that what to him had been a major confession of his past misdeeds was but a passing and innocuous piece of information for his son who wouldn't fully understand the implications of his dad's crimes and incarceration for years to come. But he'd be there, to help Liam through, to answer his questions as he got older and to make certain that his little guy learned those important lessons without having to go through what his dad had gone through to learn them.

'Sure' Neal said as he ruffled his son's hair and let out a sigh of relief.

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

The phone rang in the Caffrey household just as mother and daughter were finishing up their little chat.

'Sara!' Mozzie said, his voice even more shrill than usual

'Hi Mozzie. Neal's not here right now...' Sara began

'No, I need to talk to you' came the unexpected answer

'Okay' answered Sara as she sat down next to Hope at the kitchen table

'I need you to hold off on that lead I gave you about the Matisse' he said, his voice high pitched

'But Mozzie – that's going down tomorrow and I've already got my best investigator on the case' she responded, flustered (damn headache was really hanging on)

Sara had seen this lead as a way for Lydia Wilson to make up for the disastrous recovery attempt from the week before and she'd given her underling the information that Mozzie had passed on to her about Eddie fencing a Matisse. Up until three months ago, the painting had hung in the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam – one of Sterling Bosch's most elite clients.

'No Sara!' he all but screamed into the phone

'You're going to have to give me a good reason to pull back, Mozzie. This is a big recovery for us' she said, none too pleased

Mozzie stuttered on the other end, not wanting to reveal too much and yet needing to convey to Sara the absolute necessity that she hold off doing anything that could jeopardize the already delicate situation between Eddie and Elizabeth.

'If you do this, it could really hurt someone we both care about' he blurted out, cryptically

Sara listened, trying to decode the strange statement. Had Neal gotten himself into some sort of trouble with this fence – and did this have anything to do with the Sullivan case or with Alex?

'Neal?' she asked, unable to hold back

'I'm not at liberty to say' said Mozzie, as always mysterious

She let out a sigh. 'Really Mozzie? You're asking an awful lot, here'

'I'll make it up to you, I promise' he said 'I'll put some feelers out and I'll find you another swap'

'Alright' she agreed grudgingly although she still wasn't sure what this was all about

Mozzie thanked her and hung up, turning to face Elizabeth who was standing beside him, nervously holding her breath.

'Does she know anything?' she asked anxiously

'No. She thinks it has something to do with Neal' he answered

Elizabeth glanced nervously around the safe house. She'd never been to this one although Mozzie had trusted her enough to have her in two of his other hideaways, something that was reserved for very urgent situations or very trusted friends – and this situation was both.

'Look, go home and let me do my thing' said Mozzie 'I'm meeting with Rusty in an hour'

She looked at him quizzically.

'He's one of the best connected fences out there. I'll see if he has a market for any of the stuff I've got to sell' Mozzie said, now anxious for El to leave and give him his space

'Mozzie, I'm sorry I dragged you into this' said Elizabeth, on the verge of tears

He touched her arm lovingly as he slowly guided her to the door.

'You'd do the same for me' said the man with a smile

'Now go' he insisted as she turned back and gave him one last nervous glance

WCWCWC

'That'll be $82.63' said the woman at the cash as Neal took out his wallet

He was breathing so much easier since his little chat with Liam and although he knew the story was far from over, he had broken the ice and the subject of his sordid past was now out in the open. He felt a hand on his arm and looked up, spotting Myrtle Stevens, a neighbor from up the street, standing right behind him in the line-up.

'Hi Neal' she said, smiling

'Myrtle, hey how are you?' he responded as Liam looked on, happily sucking on a candy cane

'Great! I see you're getting ready for the big competition' she said as she glanced at Neal's purchases laid out by the cash register

'Yeah!' responded Neal 'How's Charlie? I heard he hurt his back'

'He did; he'll be fine in a few weeks. But he may not be able to compete this year; I don't want him injuring himself even more' she said, her kind face smiling back at Neal

Neal took his change from the cashier and turned to leave just as Myrtle spoke once more.

'And how's Sara enjoying the class?' she asked as Neal looked on, curious

Class? What class? Sara wasn't taking any class that he knew of. He suddenly remembered his odd exchange with Mozzie earlier in the day and wondered if this had anything to do with where Sara had disappeared to last Tuesday night – now that he knew she hadn't been at the book club.

'She likes it' he fibbed, hoping to get her to say more

But it was Myrtle's turn at the cash and she quickly became distracted, waving him off and wishing him and Liam a good day as Neal turned away, disappointed that he hadn't been able to get more information from the woman.

He had just settled Liam in his booster seat and gotten himself situated behind the wheel when his phone rang. It was Alex Hunter, thief extraordinaire.

'Neal, have you given our conversation any thought?' she asked, sounding even more anxious than she had earlier in the week

'Alex – look, I told you, I'm working with Peter to bring down the Sullivans. I can't get involved in helping you' he said as he glanced in the rear-view mirror, spotting Liam staring out the car window.

Truth was, after the conversation he'd just had with his son, he was more determined than ever to keep his nose clean no matter how much pressure Alex put on him. He had just promised his little boy that he would always be there for him; the only way he could make sure of that was to stay away from any situation that might come back to bite him in the ass.

'But, Neal...' she began

'Alex, I have a family. You can't ask me to do anything that would jeopardize that. I'm sorry – those days are over' he said firmly, taking in the smile his son had just flashed him in the mirror

'But, will you keep me posted if you hear anything that could help me. I can't get caught - I just got out of prison and I don't want to go back!' she pleaded

Neal agreed reluctantly to keep her in the loop if he heard anything that might be of use to her and he hung up, feeling very good about having been able to withstand the pressure she'd put on him. It was going to make things a lot easier to explain to Sara – a discussion he knew he couldn't avoid much longer.

'So, ready to show Mommy what we bought?' asked Neal as he flashed a smile to his little boy

WCWCWC

Mozzie waited patiently on the street corner for Rusty to arrive. He and the fence had a good, long standing relationship and he was one of the few fences Mozzie had any respect for. He hoped the man would be in the market for a few choice items, maybe even that Manet he hated to think about parting with. He'd grown attached to the painting and although he knew it was worth a bundle, it would only return a small percentage of its value once it was fenced.

He finally spotted the large man making his way towards him and prepared to negotiate the deal of a lifetime.

WCWCWC

Neal stepped into the house, noticing how unusually quiet it was. He carried a sleeping Liam in his arms as he started on his search for his wife and daughter. He found Sara sitting on the couch reading her Stephen King novel and she smiled as she spotted her snoozing son snuggled in Neal's arms.

'Hi' she whispered 'Tuckered out, huh?' she added looking at Liam

Neal lay his sleeping son at one end of the couch, removing the remnants of the candy cane he was still clutching in his hand and covering him up with the nearby blanket before taking a seat next to Sara.

He pointed to the book on her lap: 'Getting ready for your book club?' he asked

Sara lowered her eyes, unable to make eye contact with her husband as she spoke - a tell that wasn't lost on Neal.

'Yeah' she said simply

'So, how did it go?' she asked, looking in the direction of their slumbering son

'Good' said Neal, obviously relieved 'You were right, he didn't need an awful lot of details and he just carried on talking about something else as if we'd just been talking about the weather'

'I'm glad' Sara said as she took his hand 'See, the kids are crazy about you, Neal. All they care about is who you are now and not what you did ten years ago'

He nodded in agreement – Sara was almost always right about these things and he decided he should really give her more credit when it came to understanding their kids.

'So. Alex...' she said, looking into her husband's eyes

He stared back, in silence.

'What? Did you think I'd forget everything that happened in the cab last night?' she asked, giving him a naughty smile in reference to her less than appropriate behavior

'She showed up this week, looking for me and before you ask, yes, I did meet her for lunch to find out what she wanted' Neal admitted, wanting to get that detail out on the table

'And?' asked Sara

'She's being blackmailed into doing a job for a mob family' he began

'Blackmailed?'

'They have evidence of her pulling a job in Miami a few months back and they've threatened to turn her in if she doesn't do this job for them' explained Neal

Sara just stared, her eyes wide, as she waited for the rest of the story.

'She wanted my help with the heist' he finally admitted

'Neal!' Sara said a little too loudly causing Liam to jerk in his sleep

'Before you go all crazy on me...' Neal whispered 'I told her absolutely not – especially after I found out the mob family that's blackmailing her is the Sullivans'

'You're kidding' exclaimed Sara in a hushed voice 'But you and Peter are on to them; she's gonna get caught'

'I told her that but she feels she doesn't have any other choice' he answered

'Oh, my! And you really told her you wouldn't have anything to do with it – even after all you two have meant to each other...'

'Whoa, whoa – aren't you exaggerating just a little' said Neal 'Alex hasn't _meant_ anything to me in a very long time. Sure, she's had my back in the past and we've had some good times but... that was a long time ago... and that's not who I am anymore'

'Have you told Peter?' asked Sara

'No. I'm not sure what to do about that' Neal admitted as he looked away

'Well, just don't put yourself in any situation where you could get yourself arrested - or worse, hurt' said Sara

'Don't worry' Neal said, bringing his arm around his wife 'After the talk I just had with Liam, I'm not about to do anything stupid'

Sara nodded, pleased with the answer.

'Next time, pleeeaase, tell me when something like this happens' she pleaded

'What? You're not still jealous about that kiss?' he asked, jostling Sara as he spoke

'NO!' she answered adamantly

Neal laughed as he took in the sight of 'jealous' Sara who didn't come out very often. It was nice to see the green-eyed monster rear its ugly head every once in a while. He leaned over to give her a warm, loving kiss.

'Where's Hope?' he asked, suddenly aware of her absence

'Over at Olivia's' answered Sara with a gleam in her eye

'So, you feeling better now?' he asked, his voice flirtatious

She gave him a comely smile and cocked her head in the direction of their sleeping son.

'He'll be out for a good hour' Neal said as he pulled her off the couch and up the stairs.

TBC


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Mozzie watched as Rusty walked towards him on the busy street. It was Sunday afternoon, a fairly decent late November day weather wise, and people were out visiting cafés and shopping as the Christmas season drew nearer. Rusty ambled over, his red hair atop his large frame, his face serious as it always was when he was discussing business. He was the most trustworthy fence Mozzie and Neal had ever encountered; he always negotiated in good faith, had a wide array of clients and he never haggled about the 20% he kept on any given fenced item. People came to him in droves and he was making a very good living at what he did best.

'Mozzie!' he called out as he got closer to the little man

'Hey Rusty. Long time' answered Mozzie

But Rusty was a man of a few words and that was the extent of the socializing he would put up with; he dove right into the reason for the meet.

'You have something for me?' he asked as Mozzie prepared to take out his phone

'I have a variety of goods but I'm in a hurry to get my hands on some cash' Mozzie explained as he led with the main feature, the Manet

It was a piece called 'The Bar at the Folies Bergère' and it depicted a young woman standing at a bar, ostensibly waiting to serve the next patron, with bottles surrounding her and a reflection of the floor show visible in the mirror behind her. Mozzie had been in possession of the piece for a very long time – at least fifteen years and he didn't even remember where it had come from originally, but definitely one of the heists he and Neal had pulled in Europe back in their glory days. He'd had it hanging in his favorite safe house for years and he hated to part with it – but this was Elizabeth and he had to pull out all the stops in order to get her out of the mess she was in.

'Oh, that's lovely, Mozzie' said Rusty as he glanced at the picture Mozzie had taken, his glasses solidly on the tip of his nose

Mozzie looked on, gauging the fence's reaction.

'It's worth several million but what do you think you can get for it?' Mozzie asked Rusty

'It's a very specialized market, Mozzie. I do have a client who's very big on the Impressionists, especially Manet, but I'd have to reach out and it could take a few days before I know anything' said the large man

Mozzie's face suddenly turned red as he spoke a little louder than he'd meant to: 'But Rusty, this is an emergency. I need cash NOW!'

Rusty shook his head. 'Mozzie, it's a fucking Manet; I'm not going to be able to fence it in a couple of hours! I've got to get the word out and find a buyer, agree on a price, set up the meet... you know how this all works'

Mozzie looked on, concern apparent in his eyes, and decided to move on to the many other lesser known pieces he was willing to part with. Rusty examined the pictures one by one on Mozzie's phone, commenting on each piece, its potential value and the speed at which he would be able to fence the various items.

In a spiteful move, Eddie had called in the totality of the loan bringing the amount owed to over $100,000 when you added the 25% interest and late charges on El's last (as yet unpaid) monthly instalment. He'd declared that she was more trouble than she was worth and he didn't want to deal with monthly payments any longer – he wanted all that was due to him and he wanted it now.

As Rusty continued to look at the goods Mozzie had on offer, the little guy began to realize that, without the Manet in play, it would be almost impossible to get his hands on that kind of cash in less than 24 hours. He worried that El might be on the receiving end of a return visit from Eddie's thugs and that they might tighten the noose around her neck – even stooping as low as to become physical with her – and he cringed at the thought.

Rusty agreed to give Mozzie a healthy deposit on the goods upon delivery (which would take place within hours). The fence knew he would be able to get rid of many of the items within the next day or two; he had a long list of regular customers who were always on the lookout for specific items and all he had to do when he got home was take out his trusted Rolodex and start making some calls. He agreed to give Mozzie a $50,000 deposit and they shook hands on the deal and parted ways so Mozzie could return to his 'storage' facility and start assembling the required loot for delivery to Rusty by 7:00 that night.

It was a start, thought Mozzie as he scurried away.

WCWCWC

By 8:00, the transaction was complete and Mozzie stood on the front porch of the Caffrey home. He needed to confide in Neal about the situation; maybe his ex-partner would have some suggestions on how to placate Eddie at their meeting which was scheduled for 6:00 the next day.

'Uncle Mozzie!' called out Liam as he spotted his uncle entering the house

'Liam!' cried out Mozzie, taking in the sight of his godson, already in his pajamas, ready for bed

Sara scooped up her son and after an exchange of hugs between the little boy and his godfather, Liam kissed his daddy goodnight and was carried off to bed.

'What are you doing here at this hour?' asked Neal 'You usually time your visits with mealtimes'

Mozzie rolled his eyes at the slight and followed Neal into the kitchen, taking a spot next to him at the kitchen table.

'Actually, I still haven't had dinner' he said as Neal got up to fetch him some of the leftovers from their Sunday night meal

It didn't take a genius to see that Mozzie was a wreck and Neal spotted the concern in his friend's eyes immediately. Mozzie had obviously gotten himself in some mess from the looks of him and as usual, it was amplified by the little man's customary paranoia and anxiety.

'What's up, Moz. You don't look so good' Neal said as he placed the plate of roast beef and mashed potatoes in front of Mozzie

'Neal, I'm in a pickle' the man finally admitted as he gratefully dug into the proffered meal

Neal rolled his eyes – it wasn't the first time nor would it be the last; Mozzie was a magnet for 'trouble' and it seemed to follow him everywhere he went. Sometimes he needed help but most times, he just needed to talk things through and for that, he always came to his best friend.

'What is it this time?' Neal asked patiently, settling in for some long convoluted explanation, as was always the case with his ex-partner

'Actually, this time, believe it or not, it's not my mess I'm cleaning up. It's someone else's' said Mozzie mysteriously

Neal just sat and listened, his eyebrows cocked in skepticism at Mozzie's affirmation – he was always downplaying his role in the many conundrums he found himself in. Mozzie looked around, making certain Sara was out of range before going on.

'It's El' Mozzie whispered as Neal looked on with a look of confusion

'I hooked her up with Eddie, the loan shark, a couple of years back when she got into some financial trouble at work' he finally blurted out

'Mozzie! Eddie? Really? The guy is the lowest of the lowlifes!' Neal exclaimed, his voice low

Mozzie gave him an eye roll. 'I know that... now!' he said

'How much are we talking about?' asked Neal, now on the edge of his seat

'100 Gs' he responded

'He lent Elizabeth 100 Gs?' Neal screamed in a whisper

'No!... it's just grown to that amount with ... interest and he's calling in the whole loan because she missed a payment' explained Mozzie

Neal let out a long slow sigh which was perceived as an admonition and Mozzie instantly became defensive.

'She was in big trouble Neal! She would have lost her business if he hadn't lent her the money and she's been paying it off in monthly instalments for over a year. Until now...' Mozzie said

'What's changed?' asked Neal

'Look, Mrs Suit has a lot of talents, as you know, but financial management appears to be her downfall' Mozzie answered

'And she hasn't told Peter?' Neal asked

Mozzie shook his head in response.

'Why doesn't she talk to Peter about it? I know he would want to help' Neal said

'Really Neal? How long have you known El? She's too proud to tell him and now she's got thugs showing up at her door and threatening to hurt her' Mozzie screamed in a whisper

'Awww, Moz! How could you let this happen?' Neal asked, a look of disappointment in his eyes – as if he, himself, hadn't acted impulsively on so many occasions over the years

'Neal! I had no idea until a few days ago that she was in this mess' Mozzie responded

'So what are you doing about it?' asked Neal

'I've just turned over a ton of goods to Rusty for fencing but it's not enough. He gave me a $50,000 advance and when he fences the stuff, there'll be more but these thugs are coming for the whole amount tomorrow at 6:00!' he exclaimed, his voice getting shrill

Neal looked nervously towards the staircase, anticipating Sara's return at any minute.

'What do you need from me? Do you need me to go to the meet?' asked Neal

Mozzie looked down at his half-eaten plate and shook his head.

'Look, Moz. I can't give you any money unless I talk to Sara about it first' Neal said

'I don't want your money, Neal. I just needed to talk to someone before I burst. I've been telling El for a week now that she should come clean to Peter. He'll find out sometime and then it'll be even worse' said Mozzie

Sara was heard coming down the stairs and the men looked up to greet her.

'He was really tired...' she began as she took in the look on their faces '...What's the matter? Did somebody die?' she asked

'It's nothing' said Neal as he walked over to where Sara stood

She knew Neal and Mozzie enough to know it wasn't 'nothing' and she realized she had walked in on some discussion that didn't concern her.

'I'm ... going to go down and ... check the laundry' she said as she headed for the basement stairs

Neal gave her a small smile as she turned to leave. He looked over at Mozzie, taking in the look of desolation on his face.

'Look. I'm gonna go' said Mozzie once Sara had left the room

'Let me know if I can do anything' said Neal as he walked his friend to the front door

'You just did, Neal' said Mozzie referring to the fact that Neal was always there to listen

'Look, Moz, I don't want to add to your problems but I need a small favor' Neal spoke softly as he checked over his shoulder

'Sure, anything – you know that' answered Mozzie

'Sara's been lying to me about going to the book club on Tuesday nights and I want to know where she's really going' said Neal, his curiosity getting the better of him

'Sure, I'll let you know' answered Mozzie as Neal gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder

'Let me know how it goes with Eddie' Neal said as he opened the door to let his buddy out

'Goodnight Moz' Sara's voice came over his shoulder and Neal suddenly wondered how long she'd been standing there

TBC


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Monday morning dawned crisp as snow made its first appearance; just a few wayward flakes, enough to remind everyone that the holiday season was on its way.

The usual domestic hubbub dominated the pretty little house on Meadowbrook Street. Sara was frantically riffling through her jewelry box for just the right pair of earrings while the kids argued about something in the distance... and Neal was preparing for his meeting with Peter and the White Collar team while he tried to play referee.

'Whatever you two are arguing about, stop!' he finally said in exasperation which was just enough to cool the proceedings

'Now, go brush your teeth, we're leaving in 5 minutes' he exclaimed as he took control of the situation

Sara appeared at the bottom of the stairs as her two children raced back up to follow orders, arguing about who would get up the stairs first. She looked rested and ready for her day despite the fact that she'd been up for almost two hours, making lunches and making sure the kids had everything they needed.

'Is there a law against having them sleep in their clothes and coats?' asked Neal as he glanced up at her

She laughed in response. Mornings were always chaotic, especially Mondays after a couple of days off and their life was a far cry from the self-indulgent days when all they had to think about was getting themselves out the door.

'Neal, you didn't forget our meeting at school at 4:00' she said more than asked

'Yeah, right. That's why Hope looks so miserable' he finally deduced

'Anything on the agenda for this week I need to know about?' he continued as he finished adjusting his tie, finally giving up and turning to Sara for help

She began fiddling with the tie, getting it just right. 'No, just my... book club tomorrow night'

'Oh, yeah. How's that going anyway?' he asked, prodding

She turned away before answering, not wanting to look into his eyes

'Fine' she answered curtly

'So who's in this book club?' Neal asked, a dog with a bone

'Oh, you know...' she trailed just as the kids reappeared, teeth gleaming

'Let's go everybody!' Sara called out, thankful for the distraction

Oh, well, thought Neal, thinking of the report he'd eventually be getting from Mozzie, you can run but you can't hide, Ellis.

WCWCWC

Neal arrived at the Federal Building with just a few seconds to spare, compliments of his busy life as a dad. He'd made the rounds, dropping off Liam at preschool, Hope at school and finally getting himself and Sara to the train into Manhattan. Commuting was a pain in the ass, there was no doubt about it but there was no other way for a young family to make ends meet even with the excellent salaries Sara and Neal drew. Besides, although Neal had originally cringed at the thought of leaving the vibrancy and culture of Manhattan, he loved having a backyard, a garden and a house to cover in Christmas lights at this time of year.

'There you are!' said Peter as Neal entered the conference room to join him, Diana and Jones

'What? You said 9:00' Neal answered pointing to the clock on the far wall showing exactly nine on the button

'Yeah, but you're always... never mind. Take a seat. We've got some new intel on the Sullivans' Peter said, pointing to Jones

'They've been spotted casing out a couple of local museums, preparing to make a move' said Jones as he projected images of individuals from the family or their underlings snooping around the well known sites

'On the weekend, we spotted them on more than one occasion at the Dahesh, casing the joint' added Diana

'As you all know, the Dahesh is devoted to European art from the 19th and 20th century and they're preparing to host an exhibition of Albert Edelfelt's works starting next week' said Peter

The artist was of Finnish descent, one of the founders of the Realist art movement in Finland. Although he hadn't been particularly prolific, his work had nonetheless been revered and the museum was hosting an exhibition of nine of his seventeen works, all extremely valuable. Neal looked on in appreciation as Jones flashed the paintings which would be on display at the museum. He had always appreciated this period in history and Edelfelt's realistic style appealed to his sense of order and style. He remembered forging one of the artist's works – Woman and Parasol – back twenty years before and fencing it for a very tidy sum.

'Neal? Are you with us?' Peter asked as he noted the faraway look in the ex-con's eyes

'Edelfelt' Neal responded without missing a beat. 'Only seventeen works to his name but all of them beautiful'

'Well, the Dahesh has gathered nine of them for this exhibition which starts next Monday. The Sullivans have mostly hit the holding tank of museums so this seems like a likely target. So far, they've never stolen anything from the museums proper. The curator says that the paintings have begun to arrive and are being kept in the prep room' explained Peter

'When's your meeting with the Sullivans?' asked Diana, turning to Neal

'This afternoon' he answered 'I should find out what our first target is'

So far, Neal had refrained from telling Peter that Alex was in town and that she was somehow mixed up in the heists the Sullivans were planning. Although he didn't want to be actively involved in helping her, he'd hoped she would stay off the FBI's radar – and he sure as hell didn't want to be the one to have her arrested.

'So, what's the plan?' he asked

'We can't do anything about their drug cartel but DOJ is putting a lot of pressure on us to bring them in for theft and fencing stolen goods. That way, they'll have an opening to move on their drug investigation' explained Peter

'What? So you're going to storm in on an actual theft? I'm the thief, Peter. That's not going to give you much' Neal explained, realizing that Alex would likely be by his side

'You said they wanted you to work with some local talent' Peter answered 'We'll arrest you and whoever you're working with and lean on the hired help to give them up'

'I don't know, Peter...' Neal began, the worst case scenario flashing through his mind

He didn't want to be the one responsible for bringing Alex in; she was already in enough trouble with the Sullivans. Having her questioned by the FBI would put her in the worst possible situation: giving up the Sullivans and suffering their wrath or going to jail for theft.

Neal couldn't tip his hand any further and he finally shrugged in response. Maybe the Sullivans would pair him up with someone else; after all, they did mention they had a couple of small time thieves on their payroll they wanted Neal to supervise.

By the time the meeting ended, it was almost lunchtime and Neal started to think ahead to his second meeting of the day. He made his way to the appointed spot and hoped that he wouldn't be the one to bring Alex Hunter down.

WCWCWC

Mozzie and Elizabeth huddled together in the Burke living room, surrounded by the $50,000 in cash that Mozzie had managed to get as an advance from Rusty. El had never been in the presence of so much cash and her eyes sparkled as she took in the pile of loot on her dining room table.

'You okay?' Mozzie asked as he noticed the glazed over look in her eyes

'Yeah, I've just never seen this much cash in one place at one time' she answered, giggling nervously

They'd only managed to get half of the amount Eddie had demanded and they were both nervous about their meeting with him which was scheduled in less than four hours. Mozzie was hopeful that cold hard cash – even though it was less than he'd been owed – would be enough to placate the loan shark for a day or two more. He was waiting to hear from Rusty about a buyer for the Manet, even though his heart was breaking at having to give it up. He couldn't let El know that, though, and he soldiered on, happy to be of help to Mrs Suit.

'Do you think it'll be enough?' asked Elizabeth as she picked at the lunch she'd prepared for herself and her benefactor

'Hard to tell' answered Mozzie 'But it'll show him you're serious about paying off your debt'

He looked at the worry on El's face and continued: 'After this, we have to talk about how you're going to keep your company afloat'

Elizabeth knew what he was getting at and she shook her head in response.

'No, Mozzie. I'm not telling Peter about this' she answered, adamant

'So? What? You're going to just close up shop? I know how much you love your business, El' the man said

A drop threatened to fall from Elizabeth's tear-filled eyes. Of course, she knew Mozzie was right. Peter had to be told if she wanted to keep Burke Premiere Events going. She'd have to 'fess up about her lack of skill on the finance front and get someone to start keeping the books for her – properly, this time. She'd likely have to fire at least one of her staff and come up with a good strong business plan if she was going to keep the business afloat.

'There are worse things than admitting we're not perfect, you know' Mozzie offered as he took her hand

Elizabeth swallowed hard and she felt she was swallowing her pride as well. But, she knew there was no other way. She'd been sufficiently scared at the sight of Eddie's two thugs as they invaded the sanctity of their home and she didn't want to ever have to go through anything like that again.

Mozzie's phone vibrated and he looked down, noticing Rusty was calling. Maybe, he dared hope, the fence had some good news.

WCWCWC

Neal made his way to the non-descript office he'd visited a few days before but this time instead of Shawn Sullivan and his young nephew Max, he walked into a roomful of people, including most of the Sullivan clan.

'Caffrey' said Shawn Sullivan as he stepped forward to shake his hand

Neal removed his hat and accepted the proffered hand as he took in the motley crew which was assembled in the dank office space.

Sullivan proceeded to introduce Neal to the members of his family including his brothers Braden and Kevin and his father Arthur, a man in his seventies who looked like he ruled with an iron fist although he hadn't yet opened his mouth to speak. His aura totally dominated the room and it was obvious to Neal that he was the undisputed leader of the pack, the brains behind the operation.

'And you remember my nephew Max' he said as he pointed to the young man, looking as much out of his element as he had the first time Neal met him

Neal nodded in recognition.

'And these are the members of your staff for the operation' he continued turning to two men and a woman standing there, waiting

'Johnson and Eccles' Shawn continued, pointing to the two men

'And I believe you know Alex Hunter' he finally said as Neal turned and gave her a small knowing smile

Alex stared Neal up and down, smiling deviously as he took in the look of her. Although he hadn't spent any significant time with her in over ten years, he immediately recognized her cocky demeanour, looking confident and in charge although he knew she was a bowl of jelly inside. She wore her signature leather, giving her the look of a strong, capable thief and she shook his hand, her grip strong and self-assured.

'Nice to see you again, Caffrey' she said

'Alex' he responded

TBC


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

The halls were quiet as Neal and Sara entered Ridgeway Elementary School, making their way to the principal's office. In the distance, they could see their daughter sitting on a bench just outside the office, her little legs dangling in the air as she waited patiently to be called in to make her confession. The couple looked at each other in silence; she looked so forlorn and lost sitting there by herself and she was about to do a very hard, grownup thing – a rite of passage into an eventually responsible life as an adult.

She finally spotted them coming and stood, her silhouette contoured by the light coming in from the window behind her and Neal thought again about how little she was to have to deal with such a situation. But, she'd done the crime and now she had to live with the consequences.

'Hey honey' Sara called as they got closer

'Does Mrs Hines know you're out here waiting?' asked Neal as all three of them settled in on the small bench to wait

Hope nodded. Mrs Hines had instructed her to sit and wait; the teacher had suggested that Mr Webster, the school principal be in on the meeting. The school had certain policies when it came to students breaking the rules and the teacher wanted her principal's support in dealing with the situation.

Mrs Hines had been very disappointed to hear of Hope's deceit; she'd really taken a shine to the eight year old and her outgoing personality. She loved the little girl's joie de vivre and her ability to be spontaneous and authentic all the while being a respectful child. She was hurting just as much as Hope was at the thought of having to dole out punishment for the infraction and she was glad to have the little girl's parents present for the meeting – she quite liked both of them, especially Sara who could have easily been a friend in other circumstances. She sat in the office, absent-mindedly touching her stomach as she waited for the principal to return. She was six months along in her pregnancy and as a first time mom-to-be in her forties, she was apprehensive and yet excited at the prospect. She admired how Neal and Sara Caffrey were raising their children. It had been obvious to her that they were behind Hope's declaration of guilt; she hoped she would be that kind of mom when the time came.

Mr Webster finally breezed in, directing the teacher to enter his office and asking the school secretary to instruct the family to join them.

Within seconds, Hope was seated between her parents, face to face with the school principal and her favorite teacher, ready to confess her crime. Of course, having flunked a test was not the crime; it was rather her part in having deceived the teacher into thinking her parents had been informed about her test results. She had promised herself she wouldn't cry. She had to be brave; after all, she had been plenty brave when she'd agreed to let Olivia forge her dad's signature. Crying would just add to her humiliation and she looked up bravely as Mr Webster spoke.

'Hope, you asked to see us today. What's this all about?' he asked although he had been thoroughly briefed on what had transpired

Neal and Sara exchanged glances. They were both tempted to intervene but they knew their role was to support their daughter not speak on her behalf; that, she had to do for herself.

'I flunked my math test and I was afraid to show my parents' she began as Neal looked on, his heart breaking

'Why were you afraid to tell your parents?' he asked, although he knew the answer – who wanted to share that kind of news with their mom and dad?

'I really want to be in the art show after Christmas but I knew that if I flunked math, I wouldn't get to go' she responded

Mr Webster nodded. 'Mr Swain tells me you are doing exceptionally well in art class' he said

Hope smiled demurely at the compliment although the praise didn't help with her present predicament.

'I let a friend of mine sign my test paper instead of my dad' she finally said, relieved to have blurted out her sin

'That's very dishonest, Hope. I won't pretend I'm not disappointed' chimed in Mrs Hines who had been quiet up until this moment

'I'm sorry' said Hope 'It was wrong to do that'

'Who is this friend?' asked Mr Webster

Hope just looked up in surprise; she hadn't been expecting _that_ question and she sure as hell wasn't going to rat out her best friend who had only been trying to help, however misguided she had been.

'Mr Webster. Please don't make me tell. It was all my fault. I asked her to do it' Hope fibbed although the answer felt just right under the circumstances. She wasn't about to betray her friend on top of everything else.

'I admire your loyalty, Hope but you didn't do this alone' said Mrs Hines who had her suspicions. After all, Hope and Olivia Mason were joined at the hip and Mrs Hines knew the sum of two plus two – being a math teacher and all.

Hope just stared, impassively.

'I'm responsible for it' she said simply, stumbling slightly on the word 'responsible'

Neal and Sara looked at each other, Sara biting her lip to keep from sharing what her daughter had told them. But this was Hope's confession and she had to let her deal with it as she saw fit. Neal, on the other hand, respected his daughter's need to protect her friend; in his heyday, he would have never ratted out an associate no matter the pressure. It was an unspoken rule and he'd never once broken it.

'Well, Hope, we do appreciate the fact that you've come forward with the truth although what you did was totally unacceptable. I've discussed it with Mrs Hines and we both believe that there needs to be a consequence for your actions' the principal said sternly

Hope held her breath and waited for the other shoe to drop. She prayed that her punishment wouldn't be too severe. She already had an extra half hour of math homework to do every night as it was, compliments of her parents.

'Mrs Hines needs help after school to clean the classroom and set it up for the next day. You will be her helper for the next two weeks. Is that understood?' he said, looking very serious

'Yes, sir' she responded, relieved. Although it would be a pain to have to stay after school, she really liked Mrs Hines and she looked forward to helping her out and spending some one on one time with her.

'Mr and Mrs Caffrey' he said, turning to Neal and Sara 'Is that acceptable to you?' he asked

'Perfectly' Neal said as Sara nodded in response

'Thank you for seeing us' added Sara as the threesome stood to leave

Hope stood between her parents and added a meek 'thank you' as she took both their hands in hers before turning to leave.

Growing up sure was tough.

WCWCWC

Meanwhile, back in Manhattan, Mozzie and Elizabeth had arrived at Burke Premiere Events and were preparing for their meeting with Heady Eddie. Rusty had called with some good news; he'd managed to fence quite a few of the items Mozzie had entrusted him with and he had another $25,000 to contribute to the cause, shaving off another little bit of Elizabeth's debt.

El headed to the back of the store and put the kettle on; there was something about a soothing cup of camomile tea that took the edge off a confrontation with a known crook and loan shark. They waited patiently for Eddie to make his arrival.

WCWCWC

Peter had just returned from taking Satchmo out for his daily walk and was about to make himself a sandwich when he heard the doorbell ring. El had a meeting with a new client at her office and he'd been left to fend for himself. He and Satchmo exchanged looks as the two of them headed to the front door to see who would be so rude as to interrupt 'sandwich making' time.

'Can I help you?' Peter asked as he opened the door to the three men standing on his front doorstep

They looked rather unsavory, a lot like the thugs Peter saw every day at work and he frowned as he waited for their response.

'We're here to see Mrs Burke' said the one standing in the middle in a thick Brooklyn accent

He wore a striped suit that made him look like a character from one of the 'Godfather' movies and he had a thin dark mustache that looked like it had been drawn onto his face. The other two guys looked like hired thugs and once again Peter frowned, wondering what business such an odd looking threesome could have with his wife.

'I'm Peter Burke, her husband. Can I help you?' he asked, suddenly wondering where he'd left his holster when he came in

'My business is with Mrs Burke' the man insisted as he made a move to step into the alcove between the two doors

Peter instinctively took a step forward to block his way, Satchmo standing menacingly behind him – well as menacing as Satchmo could look.

'Well, if you have business with Mrs Burke, you have business with me' said Peter, an air of self-assuredness in his voice 'What's this all about?'

'Like I said, my business is with Mrs Burke. Tell her Eddie was here and he's not very happy' said the leader of the trio as he glared threateningly at Peter

Peter raised his eyebrows in response. He wasn't about to be threatened in his own home and he stood his ground, watching as the men retreated, going back down the steps towards some big ostentatious town car that was idling at the curb in front of the house. He waited until he saw them drive away before closing the door and returning to the kitchen, grabbing his holster and putting it back on before returning to his sandwich making task. He thought better of it and instead of picking up the slice ham sitting there waiting to be loaded onto the nearby slice of bread, he grabbed his phone to call El.

He didn't like this one little bit.

WCWCWC

Neal's mind wandered as he tended to making dinner. Sara was sitting at the table helping Hope with her homework and Liam was playing nearby in the family room as he toiled in the kitchen. He absentmindedly turned the fish over in the searing pan and thought back to his meeting with the Sullivans.

The mobsters had filled everyone in on their recon and had a surprisingly well thought-out plan to present to the group. This was the first of three thefts they had mapped out and Neal was impressed at the level of detail they'd provided, obviously having done their homework. As he'd feared, Alex was up first and they would, in fact, be hitting the Dahesh on the coming Thursday night. Their targets were two of the paintings from the Edelfelt collection – the most valuable ones in Neal's opinion.

He was now faced with the inevitable: Peter and the gang would be standing by waiting for the theft to be underway before barging in to arrest Neal along with Alex - unless he could find some way of getting Alex out of the way before the Feds made their appearance. He could always turn his back for a minute while Alex slipped away – there would be two more opportunities to catch the Sullivans in action (unless they insisted on having Alex participate in all three of the thefts). He didn't want to undermine the bust yet he was concerned about Alex getting caught red-handed and what that would do to her options for walking away from the Sullivans unscathed.

He looked over at the rest of his little family, all of them otherwise occupied, and thought about how he could play both ends against the middle – giving Peter his bust and letting Alex slip out, avoiding capture. He just couldn't see how and realized, once again, he was caught between his loyalty to the Bureau and to Alex.

And yet, the little voice kept repeating: There's always another way!

TBC


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

'Mozzie, what's going on? It's quarter after six' Elizabeth said as she took the last sip of her lukewarm tea

'I don't know' said Mozzie 'I've never known a loan shark to be late when it comes to collecting his money'

'You did tell him we'd meet _here_, right?' she asked, suddenly second-guessing herself

'I didn't say anything to him about _where_. I thought you did!' exclaimed Mozzie as the same thought occurred to him

'Oh, my God! You don't think he went to my house, do you?' El said, in horror

Just as she spoke, her phone rang and she looked down seeing Peter's name on the screen and just like that, Elizabeth Burke had an answer to her question.

WCWCWC

It was the last day of Liam's banishment from his beloved video games and the little guy was milking it for all it was worth. While Hope tried to concentrate on her math and finished licking her wounds, Neal finished up the dishes and Liam sat at the kitchen table with his head down, sighing deeply and loudly, hoping to gain sympathy for his cause.

Neal looked on, feeling sorry for his son, knowing they both had to see it through to the end and he resisted the urge to give in, offering him another option instead.

'You want to play 'Go fish' after I finish the dishes?' he asked, finally taking pity on his son

Liam looked up with a smile, the first real one Neal had seen on his face all day.

'Alright, go get a deck of cards and we'll play in the family room so Hope can finish her homework' he instructed as Liam sprang to his feet and ran upstairs to get the aforementioned deck of cards

'So, how's it going, sweet pea?' Neal asked, turning his attention to his daughter

She shrugged in response, not bothering to lift her head.

Neal stopped what he was doing and sat down next to her, urging her to look up at him as he spoke.

'You know, I was really proud of you today' he said

That got her attention and she looked up to meet his eyes, blue on blue. She smiled in response this time, realizing her dad was proud of her and no longer disappointed as he'd been before.

'You're not mad because I didn't tell Mrs Hines about Olivia?' she asked

'Honey, you did what you thought was right. Loyalty to one's friends is important and let's face it, if you'd really wanted to stop her, you could have, am I right?' he asked

'Yeah. I could have and I didn't' she admitted

'Well, then you're both to blame but I admire you for sticking to your principles'

She smiled in response. Despite the fact that she had hours and hours of math ahead of her over the next month and that she'd be staying late after school for the next two weeks, she was relieved to have everything out in the open.

'Want a cookie for dessert?' Neal asked as he got up to fetch her one from the cupboard

'Mom doesn't like us having dessert during the week' she said, although her eyes glowed at the suggestion

'Don't worry; I'll take care of Mommy' Neal said with a wink just as saw Sara entered the room

'Actually, I wouldn't mind one of those myself' she said with a laugh

'Me too' cried Liam as he reappeared with the deck of cards in his hands

'Tell you what' said Neal as he set the cookie jar on the table 'Let's all have a cookie and we can all play a game of cards before bedtime'

WCWCWC

'Hi honey!' Elizabeth said nervously into her phone

She had a very bad feeling about this phone call and she cringed at what was likely coming next. If Eddie and his buddies _had_ turned up at the house, he could have told Peter everything and then her secret would be out once and for all.

'Hey El!' he answered 'I just had the weirdest visitors'

'Oh, no! Don't tell me my client showed up at our place instead of here? I've been waiting for him for half an hour' she lied

But Peter Burke was one smart man and he frowned at her reply as he replayed the conversation he'd just had with Eddie at his front door. He was the furthest thing from a client and he waited for a moment for El to continue but all he got was a long, awkward silence on the other end.

'Honey, he was the furthest thing from a client I've ever seen unless he's hired you to cater his next shakedown' said Peter

'I know he looks a little rough but he wants me to cater his sister's wedding' El said, digging the hole ever deeper

Peter could tell something wasn't right but having this out over the phone didn't seem like the way to go.

'Look, do you need me to come down there?' he asked, suddenly worried

'NO! No, I'm fine. He's really very nice; he'll probably make his way here' she continued, looking at Mozzie for encouragement 'I won't be long, okay? I'll call when I'm on my way home'

Peter reluctantly hung up, dissatisfied with the explanation. Something was up and for some reason, he saw Mozzie's face in his mind's eye – somehow, this had something to do with the little man and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to get to the bottom of it.

WCWCWC

Tuesday morning dawned and Elizabeth had somehow managed to placate Peter, at least for the time being. He knew something wasn't right but for some reason, El was not forthcoming with any details so he thought he'd bide his time and do a little research of his own. He'd managed to get a quick, albeit not very clear, picture of the visitor with his phone as he'd left the night before and the moment he stepped into the office, he handed it over to Jones instructing him to see if they had anything on the guy. He reasoned that Elizabeth must have a damn good reason for not telling him what was going on and he was determined to find out exactly what she was keeping from him.

Back in Brooklyn, Elizabeth prepared to go in to work as she mulled over the events from the night before. Eddie had shown up minutes after Peter's call and he was none too pleased with the arrangements proposed by El and Mozzie. He willingly took the cash, announcing that the balance was now $35,000, an increase of 10Gs for his trouble and that they had another 48 hours to clear the debt or he would make sure that there was nothing left of Burke Premiere Events but ashes, a threat that made El's face blanch and turn the color of chalk. Just before leaving, one of his thugs had administered a swift and decisive punch to Mozzie's gut, leaving him hunched over and Elizabeth had tended to her friend before making sure he made it securely to his safe house 'du jour'. She was riddled with guilt both for what she was doing to Peter and to Mozzie who had been nothing but a good, faithful friend since this whole mess had started.

She looked down once again at the heirloom emerald earrings that had been passed down to her from her grandmother. She didn't have a choice – Mozzie had done more than his share and now, she had to step up to the plate and make some sacrifices. A quick trip to Johnson's Jewelers to drop off her ring and she would ask for an estimate of the earrings' worth.

After all, this was her mess.

WCWCWC

'I'm off to El's' Sara announced as she grabbed her book

'Have fun, honey' Neal called from the kitchen with a devious smile on his face

He grabbed his phone and called Mozzie: 'She just left!' he said before hanging up

He was about to find out what Sara's big secret was and he was privately pleased with his ingenuity in solving the mystery.

Sara, however, was no slouch in the subterfuge department; she had followed marks and been followed herself on more occasions than she cared to remember. She slowly pulled out of the driveway, immediately noticing Mozzie's van a few houses down, parked and waiting. She took her time, meandering down the streets of White Plains before slowly making her way to the Westchester Community Centre where her class was due to start within the hour. She could see Mozzie three cars back as she continued to zigzag up and down the streets, seeing if he would stay with her, which of course he did.

After all, Mozzie had promised Neal he'd find out what she was up to and he was as good as his word.

Sara finally arrived at the community centre and parked the car, noticing the van slow down and she reflected that she really needed to give Mozzie a few tips – his shadowing skills were abysmal; he'd really lost his touch.

She walked into the busy centre where courses on everything from bookkeeping to wine tasting were held every night of the week and she glanced at the electronic board outlining all the classes held that night. If Neal was going to be such a snoop, she would make it worth his while she thought as her eyes lingered up and down the board looking for the biggest bang for her buck. She finally spotted it and made her way to room 212, a few rooms over from her pole dancing class all the while sensing Mozzie's eyes on her back as he continued to furtively (not!) follow her around to see what she was up to.

She walked into the busy room and blended in with the others, mostly couples, as they took their place in the classroom. She could see Mozzie lurking nearby as he took in the nature of the class and within minutes, he'd disappeared, ostensibly to report to Neal who was about to get his comeuppance for being the most curious person she'd ever met. That would serve him right, she thought, as she finally excused herself and walked down a few doors to her pole dancing class, music blaring as she opened the door.

'Sorry I'm late!' she said as she settled in at her designated pole

WCWCWC

'A pre-natal class? Moz, that's impossible!' Neal said as he stood in front of his buddy, mouth wide open

'I'm telling you, Neal. I followed her all the way into the class and she went in and settled right in – like she belonged' said Mozzie, his voice shrill

'How could... No, she wouldn't keep this from me!' Neal exclaimed

'Well, do you really think she's taking a pre-natal class just for recreation?' Mozzie asked as Neal let himself fall on the couch

'No, there's got to be an explanation...' he said, clearly in shock

'Yeah, your wife is pregnant again and she hasn't told you about it yet!' exclaimed Mozzie who wasn't helping in the least

'No, no, that can't be right' Neal said, as he thought back over the last several weeks

Had he noticed anything different about Sara lately? Was she more tired than usual? Had she complained about morning sickness? There was that morning she'd thrown up after breakfast but she'd said she had the flu... No, no, this couldn't be right.

Neal spent the rest of the evening in a total haze, staring off into space. The kids were tucked in and he sat, waiting for Sara to return, determined to confront her about what he'd learned the minute she got in. He tried to keep himself occupied as he waited for her but his mind kept returning to the news Mozzie had just shared with him – news that was totally unexpected.

It was past ten o'clock by the time Sara made it home and she was anxious to see what kind of a welcome was reserved for her in light of her little ruse. If Neal was going to have her followed, she'd milk it for all it was worth and she walked in, finding Neal sitting on the couch and staring into space. She made her way over to him, stretching out as she walked, her tummy protruding, rubbing her back as she went (after all, it _was_ sore but not for the reason Neal was imagining).

'I'm so tired!' she exclaimed as she let herself fall on the couch next to him

'I don't know what's wrong with me lately, I've got no energy and I'm feeling so bloated!' she said as she turned to see his expression

He just stared at her, obviously still in shock, unable to get a word out.

'Sara... honey, I...' he stuttered as she finally gave up and took pity on him giving him a good-natured slap on the arm as she spoke

'Neal Caffrey, you idiot! That'll teach you to have me followed! Don't you ever do that again!' she yelled as she stood and made her way up to their bedroom, leaving him as confused as ever.

TBC


	24. Chapter 24

_I want to wish all of you a very Happy Holiday Season and now, on with the adventures of the Ellis-Caffrey family!_

**Chapter 24**

The little jewelry shop on Pearl Street was quiet when Elizabeth made her way inside, clutching the precious emerald earrings tightly in the palm of her hand. Her mom had given them to her when she'd turned 21, a treasure left to her by her mother before her when she'd hit that same milestone. El was feeling like a traitor not only towards her mom and her grandmother but towards her husband who had no idea the lengths she was prepared to go to in order to get herself out of a situation that was completely of her making.

She spotted one of the Johnson boys behind the counter and made her way to him, embarrassed at her mission.

'Good morning!' she said, nervously

'Mrs Burke! Haven't seen you in a while' said Sam Johnson, the oldest of the three brothers

'Yeah, you're right! It has been awhile. How's your dad?' she asked, beginning to relax at the easy banter

'Oh, you know... he still insists on coming in every day but he usually doesn't stay for more than an hour or so' he answered, looking sad

'It's not easy to give up on our routines' El agreed as she prepared to place the earrings on the counter before her

'What can I do for you today?' he asked

'Well, I wanted to leave my wedding ring for cleaning and polishing' she said, removing it from her finger and buying some time before she confessed the real reason for her visit

'Sure, no problem' he responded as he took the ring from her and began to prepare a receipt

She realized she was stalling and she nervously glanced towards the back of the store where the Johnsons sold gently used vintage jewelry.

'Sam, I was wondering about your vintage section' she said pointing in that direction

'What are you looking for?' he asked, expecting her to be on the buying end of a transaction

'Well, actually, I brought in my grandmother's emerald earrings for you to sell' she said, depositing them in plain view in front of the man

'Wow! Those are gorgeous' he said as he reached for his magnifying glass

Elizabeth held her breath as he examined the earrings, guilt ridden as she realized what her damn pride had reduced her to doing.

'These are worth quite a bit. At first glance, I'd say about $3,000' he said as he kept studying the jewelry

El looked on, somewhat disappointed; she had hoped for more. She was looking to make up an important part of the difference still owed to Eddie and these earrings were the most expensive piece of jewelry she owned.

'Let me just check something' Sam said as he retreated to the back of the store, ostensibly to check in some catalog of vintage jewelry he kept back there

Elizabeth began to look around, noticing the beautiful cufflinks in a nearby display. Those bastards had taken Peter's best pair as they'd rummaged through their house and she looked longingly at a similar pair in the case. What was she doing? This was ridiculous, she thought, feeling like some two bit hustler pawning off her family heirloom.

Sam finally returned, with a book in his hand.

'Actually, I could give you a little more' he said 'Our markup is usually 20% but you know, you've been such a good customer...'

His words hung in the air as Elizabeth waited to hear what he would be willing to pay.

'I could give you $4,500' he said finally

'Okay, that would be great' she answered, relieved yet riddled with guilt

'I'll write you a cheque' he said as he reached under the counter

WCWCWC

Mozzie spent most of the day rummaging through his storage facilities looking for ways to make some more quick cash. Although he'd had a first look through before his meeting with Rusty, he still had a lot of 'stuff', some not easily fenced at a moment's notice and he concentrated on picking out the pieces that he could fence quickly and easily. He usually used a fence when he wanted to move stuff but he was having trouble getting in touch with Rusty so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

He glanced over at a small painting by Emily Carr, a Canadian artist from the early 1900s – he had won the painting in a card game against Willie Wright and the guy had been furious as Mozzie had walked out with his treasured painting. Although Mozzie liked the painting and he knew it was worth a fair bit, he didn't have any emotional attachment to the piece and he threw it in with the rest of the loot he'd been piling into the shopping cart he'd wheeled in. Willie might be willing to buy it back, Mozzie thought, as he began to look through his phone for the guy's number.

They had another twenty four hours before Eddie came knocking once again and Mozzie wanted the guy gone from his life – and Elizabeth's – once and for all.

WCWCWC

Neal strolled into the preschool holding Liam's hand and made his way to the cubbies, helping Liam out of his coat and boots and signing the required parent sign-in sheet. He could see Caleb's dad doing the same and Neal gave him a nod and his best Caffrey smile – kill him with kindness, he thought, despite the situation.

'Good morning Liam' Miss Rosalie said, welcoming him to the playroom with a warm hug

Neal looked down at his son, eyes aglow at the sight of the teacher and couldn't help recognizing that look of utter amazement and unadulterated infatuation he saw there. I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree after all.

Liam gave his dad a quick hug and ran to meet Jaylen who was playing at the sand table while Neal made his way to Liam's teacher wanting to get the lowdown on how things were going.

'So, everything's been good this week?' he asked, smiling down at the pretty young woman

'Yeah, he's settled right down. Of course, I've been keeping a closer eye on Caleb, so that helps' she added

'Well, Liam's been doing penance at home for what happened so I think he's gotten the message loud and clear that you can't use your fists to resolve a conflict' explained Neal

'Well, have a good day, Mr Caffrey' said the teacher as she returned to her young charges

Neal walked back to the car, dialing his phone as he went. The heist was scheduled for the next night and he wanted to give Alex a heads up before she made her decision as to what to do.

'Neal, what's up?' she answered, her voice sleepy

'We need to talk' he said, curtly

'Meet me down in the hotel lobby' she said

WCWCWC

Mozzie sat in the Burke kitchen sipping on a Starbucks' mocha latte and going over the math one last time as El looked on with interest. He'd shown up at her place with the profits from his latest sales including a hefty $10,000 for that Emily Carr painting. El threw in her measly $4,500 from the sale of the earrings and Mozzie could see that that one and only exchange had been harder on her than all of his transactions put together. This whole mess had cost Elizabeth Burke an awful lot – her precious heirloom, her pride, her dignity but thankfully not her marriage or her business, at least not yet.

Mozzie tallied everything up and looked over at El with a satisfied smirk; they'd done it, they had managed to rake up the required $35,000 and he couldn't wait to throw it in Eddie's face and have this whole sordid mess behind them.

'You know, El, there's still the matter of you coming clean to the Suit' he said

Elizabeth looked on horrified.

'Wasn't that the whole point of this, Moz – not having to tell Peter?' she asked, looking over her cup of skinny latte

Mozzie just stared at her, waiting for her to draw her own conclusion. This messy situation was just the beginning; if she wanted to keep her business, she needed to make some changes and that meant coming clean to Peter. Despite her resolve, Elizabeth began to cry at the realization that Peter would have to know, sooner or later, that she'd created this mess and that she would need some help to move ahead.

'El!' Mozzie said, walking around the island to stand by her 'You knew it had to come to this'

She looked at Mozzie through her tears, his arm firmly around her shoulder. He was right; there was no other way. All that was left was to find the right time and the right words to tell her husband that he was married to a fraud.

WCWCWC

The coffee shop at the Four Seasons Hotel was quiet at this time of day. A few tourists finishing up their leisurely breakfast lingered in the small restaurant as Neal walked over carrying two cups of coffee to where Alex sat, waiting.

'So, are you ready for tomorrow night?' she asked as he sat, facing her

'More importantly, are you ready?' he asked right back

'Everything is all mapped out for us. They've covered the alarm system and the getaway' she answered

'That's not what I'm talking about and you know it' Neal said, looking intently at her

'Peter and the rest of the Harvard crew are going to be waiting for us and the net is going to drop, Alex – and I can't do anything to help you' he added

She glared at Neal, her lips pursed, as she realized he was not going to do anything to help her out of this dilemma. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place; if she refused to carry out the theft, the Sullivans would make good on their threat and if she did, she would be arrested.

'Neal, you know you could help if you wanted to' she said

He looked around, nervously, not wanting to be overheard and he dropped his voice to a quiet whisper as he answered.

'What exactly do you want me to do, Alex? Lend you my invisibility cloak?' he asked sarcastically

'You could help me with an exit plan' she said, unappreciative of his sarcasm

'No, Alex. I won't help you with an exit plan. Look, it's bad enough that I'm sitting here giving you a head's up. If Peter knew...'

'What? Are you still under his thumb after all this time' she shot back, aiming to hurt him

He looked over angrily.

'You can think what you want, Alex. I really don't care' said Neal

'I'm sure the Sullivans would love to know about your association with the FBI' she finally said, her last desperate attempt at getting his help

He stood up like a shot, hurt and angry in equal measure.

'If _that's_ how you want to play it, Alex. Fine' he spat bitterly before turning to walk away

TBC


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Wednesday morning had dawned chilly and cloudy – winter was most definitely just around the corner and the weather forecast was calling for periods of snow later in the day. Peter pulled the collar up on his coat and pushed through the throngs of people on his way to work. Even though it had been eight years since Neal had worked full time for the White Collar Division, he still thought of him every morning as he made his way to his office. One of the best parts of having Neal in his life on a daily basis had been their little talks as they sipped coffee and prepared for their day. Neal's guard always seemed to be down during those walks and Peter remembered having some of their best discussions on those strolls through the streets of New York.

Peter was still pondering the identity of the men who'd shown up at their front door two nights before and even though El continued to be evasive, he wasn't about to let it go. He'd put out feelers as to who the guy might be and he was hopeful something would come up on his radar. He thought of Neal again, hoping everything would go as planned with the takedown which was just over 24 hours away. Although he knew Neal could handle himself, Peter still had a responsibility for each of the members of his team and that included Neal – these guys were mobsters and even though this was technically a heist, if things went south, the Sullivans could turn on him at any moment.

He stepped off the elevator and walked through the nearly empty bullpen; it wasn't yet 8:00 and except for a few keeners and some of his old-school staff, the bulk of his team didn't arrive until closer to 8:30. Jones, however (definitely falling in the 'old-school' category) was at his desk, already occupied with the business of the day.

'Good morning Peter' he said as he glanced up at his boss

'Hey, Jones' answered Peter, still standing with his coat on and his coffee in hand 'Anything yet on that picture I gave you yesterday?'

'Oh, yeah, I meant to tell you' Jones answered as he began rummaging through the many papers on his desk 'I got something'

He kept digging through the files, coming up with the one he was looking for and handed it to Peter.

'He's a small time hustler, does some fencing but he's got quite the reputation as a loan shark – name of Eddie Pearson' Jones explained

Peter opened the file, taking in the mug shot of the guy – it was definitely him. For some reason, Eddie had some business with his wife and the mystery deepened.

'Thanks Jones' Peter said absentmindedly as he continued up the stairs to his office

WCWCWC

Since Sara's return from her class on Tuesday night, she and Neal had continued to give each other the cold shoulder, dancing around each other, annoyed more than anything else: he, that she was keeping something from him and she, that he would have her followed. They'd laid in bed, back to back – a very uncommon position for them – and had woken up as usual, with Neal spread out on his back and Sara curled up against him. They might be pissed off at each other but they had seemingly forgotten to mention it to their bodies. They'd done their due diligence as parents, getting the kids ready for the day and Sara had left for work without the usual banter and, to Neal's chagrin, without the customary kiss goodbye. He hated it when he and Sara argued; maybe he could be the bigger man and try to make amends somehow...

After his brief meeting with Alex, Neal had begun to make his way over to the Federal Building. He wasn't sure just how much he wanted to share with Peter; after all, Alex was most likely bluffing... most likely. But, if she was sufficiently pissed off, there was nothing Alex _wouldn't_ do and Neal knew this all too well from his many years of working with the mercurial thief. If she went through with her threat, his cover would be blown, putting him on the receiving end of the Sullivans' wrath and that was something he just couldn't have.

He found Peter in a similar meditative state when he finally stepped into his office; his best friend staring down at a file, not even having noticed that Neal was standing there.

'Is that the Sullivan case?' Neal asked, snapping Peter out of his reverie

Peter turned the file he was studying towards Neal as the younger man did a double take. It was a photograph of Eddie, the loan shark and Neal recognized him immediately, thinking back to his conversation with Mozzie.

'Do you know this guy?' Peter asked

'Yeah, I've seen him around. Eddie something or other' Neal said, nonchalantly

'Pearson' responded Peter as he stood to face Neal

'Why are you looking into him?' Neal asked, afraid that Peter had been playing connect the dots where Elizabeth was concerned

After Mozzie's little confession the other night, Neal had decided to stay out of the situation; after all, Mozzie seemed to have it handled. Now, he was wondering if he'd done the right thing. Maybe he should have ratted out El to Peter – in the interest of keeping her safe, of course.

'This guy showed up at our place looking for El the other night' answered Peter, a look of worry on his face

Neal just kept a straight face realizing he wasn't quite as good as he used to be at doing that.

'And El's been really secretive lately. I know something's up but she keeps insisting that this guy just hired her to plan his sister's wedding' said Peter, his voice dripping with skepticism

Neal just frowned at the notion; Peter was a smart guy and he knew that when he smelled a rat, he never let go until he got what he needed. He decided it was best to just change the subject.

'So, everything seems set for tomorrow night' Neal said 'They've got us a van and a driver and I've been handed the layout for the security system. It shouldn't be a problem'

'Just be careful, Neal. These guys play for keeps' warned Peter

Neal just gave him his roguish smile, attempting to keep Peter on the trail of deception he was leading him down; he would find a way to deal with Alex... somehow.

WCWCWC

Sara sat at her desk, doing a poor imitation of an insurance investigator at work, as her thoughts returned to Neal. She'd been hard on him – as usual – after all, she couldn't blame Neal for being curious. Technically, she _had_ lied to him about her whereabouts and she knew that she would be none too pleased if the tables were turned and Neal had deceived her. Still, having Mozzie follow her... really?

She picked up her phone and had just texted a single word followed by a little heart emoticon when the door to her office opened and her assistant, Jenny, walked in carrying a gorgeous bouquet of orchids which she placed right on Sara's desk with a twinkle in her eye. Jenny knew Sara Ellis well: she knew they were her favorite flowers and she knew that Sara had a most thoughtful (and as she'd observed on many occasions, gorgeous) husband.

'Special occasion?' she asked, curious

Sara just looked at the bouquet and sighed. Neal Caffrey, what you do to me, she thought.

WCWCWC

Neal glanced at the screen on his phone and smiled at Sara's apology. He hoped she'd liked the flowers; they'd cost a fortune but putting a smile back on his wife's face was always worth it. He continued to his destination, parking right in front of the little house on DeKalb Street. The least he could do was let Elizabeth know what was going on and offer his support if she needed it.

'Neal, what are you doing here? she asked, surprised to find him standing there at noon on a Wednesday

'Just happened to be in the neighborhood' he answered with a smile

'Come on in, I've got some coffee on' she said as she led him into the kitchen

Once they were settled, facing each other at the kitchen island, Elizabeth finally began to relax. Every time someone knocked on the door these days, her blood pressure would skyrocket and seeing Neal standing there had been a welcome relief.

'Look, Elizabeth, Mozzie and I had a little chat the other night' Neal admitted sheepishly

El's eyes looked down at her cup of coffee. Neal could see she was uncomfortable and he didn't want to embarrass his friend but he did need to let her know he was there for her if she needed to talk.

'So I guess you know, I've made quite a mess of things' she said, her voice quiet

Neal took his hand and reached over, pulling her chin up and forcing her to look at him.

'You're looking at THE expert at making messes' he said with a kind smile

She shrugged as tears began to form in her eyes; Neal was a good friend and she knew she could trust him.

'I just can't believe I've dug such a hole for myself' she continued 'Peter would be horrified...'

'Peter is worried' Neal interrupted 'He loves you and all he wants is for you to be happy... and safe' he added

'How do I tell him that I've made a mess of my business? I wanted him to be proud of my accomplishments' El said

Neal laughed. 'Are you not in the room when he goes on and on about your amazing business, how you've built it up from the ground up, the incredible reputation Burke Premiere Events has and the wonderful work you do?'

'That's just it. It's all going to disappear' she said, tearfully

'It doesn't have to. Look, Mozzie tells me that once this debt is paid off, you just need to get on an even footing, make some adjustments and move on. Nobody needs to know about this bump in the road' Neal said, taking her hand in his

Elizabeth smiled through her tears. At the moment, she couldn't see a future for her beloved business but Neal was right, if she just made the right choices, things could be salvaged. She just hoped her relationship with Peter could withstand such a deception.

'... but I have to tell Peter' she finally admitted, as much to herself as to Neal who sat there, nodding

'How are you doing with the money?' Neal asked 'If you'll let me talk to Sara about it, I'm sure we could help out'

'No, no. We're good. Mozzie's been amazing and we've managed to pull together the cash we need. We're handing it all over to Eddie tonight and then, I never want to see or hear from that creep again' she said, the fighter in El returning

'That's the El we all know and love' Neal said as he stood to leave 'You give him hell and then you walk away with your head up high'

Elizabeth walked Neal to the door, gave him a warm hug and watched as he climbed into his car. She was suddenly feeling strong and determined. She would find a way to weather the storm. Right now, she was more concerned about how to break the news to Peter. She returned to the kitchen, realizing that a good home cooked meal had to be part of the plan; Peter always did better on a full stomach. She reached for her recipe book: this called for some baking, maybe even an apple pie, one of Peter's favorites.

TBC


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Hope sat at the kitchen table, reviewing things once again: the final math test was just a few days away and she'd been feeling more and more confident as time passed, thanks to the tutoring from her best friend Olivia and the support of her parents.

The front door opened and she heard her dad's voice as it echoed through the house.

'I'm home!' he called out as he sailed into the kitchen, stopping to place a small kiss on his daughter's head and wave to his son who was watching television nearby

The place smelled amazing, garlic mixed with basil and he looked curiously over to where Sara stood busily making dinner – a rare occurrence indeed.

'Hi honey' she said as she turned to welcome him with a kiss – not a peck, but a real, honest to goodness kiss smack on the lips

So domestic... so marital... so warm and welcoming... so NOT Sara Ellis.

'Hi' he said, slightly hesitant but nonetheless pleased that the cold war seemed to be over

'It smells amazing!' he added as he took the lid off the pan on the stovetop, taking in the aroma of béchamel sauce perfumed with garlic and spices, his own exclusive recipe which his wife had apparently followed to the letter

'Thought you might enjoy your signature linguine with clam sauce' she said with a smile

'That must have been a hell of a bouquet' Neal said, as he gave his wife a friendly pat on the bum

Sara just raised her eyebrows in agreement and returned to the task at hand.

'Yuck! Clams!' said Liam as he stood to make his way to the kitchen

'Don't worry, honey. I have some chicken for you guys' said Sara, not missing a beat

'So, just a few days 'till the big test, huh?' Neal asked, grabbing a glass of wine from the open bottle on the nearby counter and settling in next to his daughter

She just nodded with a smile.

'I think I'm ready' she said, proudly

Although Hope had hated doing the extra half hour of math every night, it had most definitely paid off. She was feeling confident as the test approached and she was able to rhyme off her multiplication tables in any order her parents threw at her.

'Six times eight' Neal called out, trying to catch her off guard

'Forty eight' she answered without hesitation

WCWCWC

Meanwhile, back in Brooklyn, Elizabeth Burke was putting the finishing touches on her own gourmet meal – well 'gourmet' being a relative term considering the dinner had been designed with Peter Burke in mind: cheeseburgers with homemade beefeater fries, some coleslaw, a couple of Heislers and to top it off some freshly baked apple pie à la mode. She was just finishing rolling out the dough for her pie top when she heard the door open and she ran to greet her husband, rolling pin still in hand.

'Honey, you're early' she said, breathless as she ran towards the front door

'Whoa!' Peter yelled as he spotted the rolling pin, practically ducking at the sight of the implement

'Oh, sorry. I was just finishing up one of your favorites' she said as she brought the pin down and offered him her open, welcoming arms instead

'It smells great!' said Peter as he recuperated

'Well, you go on up and change and I'll stick the pie in the oven' said El, as she gave her husband a warm kiss on the cheek

Wonderful Mozzie had suggested that she stay home and feed her husband leaving him to meet with Eddie to hand over the rest of the cash. El had been relieved not to have to see the thug's face again and she had readily agreed to Mozzie's suggestion, thanking him for his support, once again.

She'd been fussing all afternoon, trying to come up with the best approach to coming clean to Peter and she had decided that it was best to be direct – just start at the beginning and tell him what had led her to make the poorly thought out choices that had culminated in this most unfortunate situation. She could hear him in the distance, whistling, as he started back down the stairs and she took one last gulp of air and crossed her fingers.

WCWCWC

'Pleasure doing business with you' said Eddie as he took the envelope from Mozzie

Mozzie wished he could say the same… better to keep his mouth shut and end this ordeal once and for all. He'd asked to meet Eddie at a bar in Lower Manhattan; he didn't want to be in a secluded location where the thugs could have another go at him. He was still reeling from that blow to the stomach he'd suffered two days before and he wanted to avoid a repeat at all costs.

'If you have any other clients for me, send them my way' said the loan shark with a smirk, as he stood to leave, his two thugs on either side

'I'll be sure to do that' answered Mozzie in a strong voice that belied his quivering insides

He watched as the trio left the bar and once he was certain they were gone, he took a large gulp of the triple brandy he'd ordered for himself and followed them out into the night.

His next stop was Johnson's Jewelers.

WCWCWC

Peter pushed away from the table, feeling like he might burst. He'd overindulged in El's amazing meal and he was already regretting stuffing in that extra large piece of apple pie. Elizabeth had flirted with the idea of confessing while he ate but she hadn't had the heart to interrupt her husband's obvious enjoyment of the feast she'd prepared for him.

Now, as they sat, face to face with a cup of tea – there was no escaping the inevitable.

'Honey' Peter said as he put his hand on his stomach 'That was amazing!'

'I'm glad you enjoyed it' she said, not quite looking at him

'And now, you're gonna tell me what's going on' Peter added, without missing a beat

'Am I that obvious?' she asked, finally letting her eyes meet his

He raised his eyebrows in response.

'Does this have anything to do with that thug that showed up here the other night?' asked Peter

Elizabeth was relieved that Peter had brought the subject out in the open and she nodded, shyly.

'Yes, it does. But I guess you've figured that out already' she said

'Well, you _have_ been acting a little strange the last few days. I figured you'd tell me what was going on eventually' he said, moving back from the table

'Honey, I did something very stupid' El finally blurted out '...and then, I followed it up by doing something even more stupid'

'El, it's me' Peter said, reaching over the table to take her hand 'How bad can this be?'

'Bad' she said simply

He cocked his head, waiting for her to continue.

'That man, Eddie... he'd a loan shark' she confessed

Peter didn't seem that surprised so she took that as a sign to continue with her confession.

'And a couple of years ago, Mozzie introduced him to me because I needed a loan for the business' she said

'A loan? What for?' asked Peter, genuinely taken aback

'I had exhausted my credit at the bank and ... well, things were slow and I needed to...' El said, having trouble admitting the true cause of this mess – her inability to manage the business' finances

Peter just sat and listened, frowning – although El couldn't tell if it was out of concern for her or in judgement of her poor financial skills.

'Anyway... I didn't want to ask you to invest our _own_ money so I... I turned to this guy...'she said

'What was Mozzie thinking?' Peter finally blurted out. As usual, he was quick to blame the little guy whenever anything went wrong and he'd cursed his relationship with El on more than one occasion over the years.

'Honey, no. Please. Whatever you do, _don't_ blame Mozzie. He's been amazing through all of this' Elizabeth said, coming to her friend's rescue

Peter responded with a look of despair – despair at her naiveté where Mozzie was concerned.

'I know he's not perfect. He's a paranoid, sneaky little man. But he has a heart of gold and I trust him, honey, I really do. He would never do anything to hurt me – or you for that matter – and I promise you, he did not lead me down the garden path. Actually, it was the other way around'

Peter waited for her to continue.

'Anyway, I begged him for his help and he tried to warn me that these ... people... could play rough. But I really wanted to do this by myself, Peter, and now, I've really messed up'

Her voice was shaking, tears rising unbidden in her eyes and Peter could see his wife was so very upset – something he simply couldn't bear. He got up to move to the other side of the table, pulling a chair in close to her and he put his arm around her as she continued to look ahead, tears now running freely down her face.

'Honey, please' she pleaded, resisting his comforting arms 'Let me get this out'

Peter sat back, his arm still on the back of her chair, ready to scoop her up in his arms at a moment's notice.

'So he introduced me to Eddie who gladly lent me $100,000' she continued as Peter let out a gasp at the enormity of the loan

'... and things were okay for a long time. I made regular payments and then last month, I realized I just didn't have the cash and I needed to get some help' she finally admitted, getting to the crux of the matter

'Honey, why didn't you tell me? We could have worked it out, together, like we always do' Peter asked, genuinely hurt

Elizabeth was sobbing now at the realization that she'd made one bad decision after another. Of course, this wonderful, loving man would have been at her side – if it hadn't been for her stupid pride.

'I know that now, but Peter, I was too embarrassed to tell you. You were so proud of me, of Burke Premiere Events and every time you would tell someone about how wonderful my work was, I... I just felt like a fraud' she declared

'But you _are_ wonderful and you do wonderful work – you have dozens of happy clients' Peter said, rubbing her back gently as he spoke

'I know. But the truth is, finances isn't my thing and I didn't want to admit that – to you or to myself' she finally confessed

'Honey' Peter said, his voice soft and loving 'You can't be good at everything. Look at me, if you weren't here to help me, I'd probably be going to work in the same old suit every day'

She looked at him, smiling through her tears. As it was, he pretty well went to work every day wearing the same old suit, despite her help.

'So, this guy wants his money' he said, returning to the saga

'Yes, and because I couldn't make a payment, he called in the whole loan with ... interest'

'I don't think you can call what these guys charge 'interest', honey. It's extortion' Peter answered

'Regardless, it's my own fault for getting myself into this mess' Elizabeth whimpered

'So, how much do we owe?' Peter asked

El smiled at his use of the word 'we' – after all, she should have known all along, it was always about the two of them.

'Nothing. Mozzie got the money together. Honey, he sold a whole bunch of stuff just to get me out of this mess' she said

Although Peter was pleased that Mozzie had her back, he couldn't help but reflect that that 'stuff' was likely ill-gotten goods in the first place and he cringed at the thought. But he managed to keep that musing to himself, instead choosing to scoop his wife up into his arms to comfort her.

'I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for the mess I made but I'm mostly sorry for having kept this from you all this time' El sobbed into his shirt

'Oh, El. Don't you know? We're in this together. Your problems are my problems' he whispered in her hair as he held her close

And just like that, Elizabeth Burke had learned a most important lesson: trust and love know no boundaries.

TBC


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Thursday rolled around and as the bewitching hour drew nearer, Neal began to feel more and more anxious about what was about to transpire. Alex was still hell-bent on carrying out the job she'd been tasked with and Peter was poised to break in and arrest those 'thieves' at the Dahesh as soon as Neal gave the takedown phrase. It wasn't his problem, really. But he knew Alex was hoping he'd cave in at the last minute and do something to keep her from getting arrested.

They were standing in the small office in Brooklyn, going over the plans for the heist one last time. Shawn Sullivan was presiding over the meeting, with a newcomer named Hughie nearby and Alex standing by Neal as they all looked down at the layout of the museum's prep room and studied the security system. Hughie was their driver and his job was to be ready for the getaway the moment Neal and Alex emerged with the two targeted paintings. It was to be a quick and dirty job – disable the alarm and be in and out in less than five minutes.

The security system was well known to Neal – a typical RFID protection system he'd dealt with many times before (certainly many more times than Peter could have ever suspected). He was concerned that Alex might make a run for it – maybe even run _from _the Sullivans with the loot, which would definitely put her in even more peril. He had to keep her nearby and not cave in to those pleading eyes of hers; after all he'd been more than honest with her as far as the consequences of the heist were concerned. She hadn't yet acted on her threat to out him and frankly he would have been surprised if she had – there was a big fat line you didn't cross in the criminal world and ratting out your associates (or former associates in this case) was a line you didn't cross.

They went over the timeline one more time. The two targeted paintings had arrived in New York and were in the prep room, already framed – having arrived in crates from parts unknown. That was always a little trickier than a painting that could be rolled up into a tube and carried out on your shoulder but Neal had stolen framed paintings plenty of times and it had never posed a problem. The fact that Hughie would be right outside with the motor running made it a lot easier. Neal shook his head at that last reflection – old habits died hard. He seemed to be momentarily forgetting that the targeted items would never make it out of the building and into the van if he did the job he'd been assigned to do (and was paid to carry out) by Peter.

WCWCWC

The small noise at the front door made Elizabeth jump. She realized that the whole episode involving Eddie had left her rather skittish and she hoped that, with time, she wouldn't react so much every time she heard an unfamiliar noise in the empty house – especially while Peter was out on a case as he was on this Thursday evening.

She made her way to see what the sound was, followed closely by Satchmo, who was even more attentive than before. She glanced briefly at the new lamp Peter had given her as an early Christmas gift and she ruffled Satchmo's head in silent thanks – it was much prettier than the one he'd accidentally broken.

She could see a small package sitting on the front stoop as she peered out and she opened the door cautiously, looking up and down the street to see if there was anyone lurking nearby. Once she was satisfied, she bent down to pick it up and brought it into the kitchen, setting it down on the island to stare at it for a moment.

She brought the small package to her ear (the by-product of living with an FBI agent all those years) and hearing nothing ticking, she shook it gently in an attempt to guess at its contents. She finally gave in to her mounting curiosity and began to open the box – no name, no postmark just a brown cardboard box. Her eyes widened at the sight of its contents: two smaller boxes with the Johnson Jewelers label on them. Could this be another early Christmas gift from Peter?

She opened the first box and let out a gasp at its contents - her grandmother's emerald earrings with a note attached that read: 'These could only be worn by you, El'

The only person who knew about her having to pawn the earrings was Mozzie and she was suddenly overcome by the conman's thoughtfulness and generosity in getting them back for her. She hadn't told Peter about what she'd had to do – she felt it was part of her penance for her sins and she had decided she could willingly live with the loss of the cherished earrings as a reminder that she'd made some very poor choices.

Which left the second box, similar in size and weight. She carefully opened the package and was bowled over by its contents – a pair of cufflinks, very similar to the ones that the thugs had taken from their bedroom. They were not identical, she knew, but they were close enough to fool the likes of Peter Burke who would never know the difference.

She thought of Mozzie and his huge heart, unable to watch someone he cared about suffering. She owed him big time and she hoped that, over time, she could make all this up to him somehow.

WCWCWC

The drive over to the Dahesh was short and uneventful as Neal and Alex sat in the back of the van, dressed in their cat burglar outfits. She'd barely said two words to him and he could tell she was still pissed off – the second woman to give him the silent treatment in the past twenty four hours. They arrived at their destination just after 10:30; the place had been cased thoroughly and although some of the staff had been working until 8:00 or 9:00 to get ready for the upcoming exhibition, no one had been spotted after 9:00 in over a week. Their driver stopped a block away and as they drove past, Neal spotted the Municipal van and gave Alex a furtive glance to see if she'd noticed it. She seemed to be deep in thought, unaware of her surroundings. He thought of Peter, Jones and Diana waiting nearby for the takedown phrase, ready to barge into the museum to catch him and Alex red-handed and he sighed as he wondered once again how this would all play out.

The staff entry into the back of the museum was frankly a joke and Neal made quick work of picking the lock, wondering how a museum with such precious treasures could have such a sloppy loophole in its security. Of course, there was the security alarm to contend with – and Neal knew he had all of 45 seconds to deal with it – barely a challenge for someone like Caffrey. He'd played a little game with himself throughout the years and, although he was sorely out of practice, he was anxious to try to beat his own personal best of 23 seconds on the RFID system. He'd kept mental notes of all his 'best' times at hacking security systems and back when he was cruising museums for a living, he'd tried to best his time with each venture. Alex had made her way to the holding room to begin to search for the two very specific pieces 'requested' by the Sullivans as Neal toiled nearby at the security panel, just out of sight. He checked his watch as he finished up, noting a time of 34 seconds – quite disappointing in fact, and he made his way into the prep room. He'd been there twice over the past few years, not as an intruder but with Peter when the museum had had unwelcome nocturnal visitors and he quickly took in the lay of the land, noticing that the Edelfelts were tucked together in a corner, four or five of them immediately visible.

'Any luck?' he whispered to Alex who was rummaging through looking for the required pieces

'No. And there are some unpacked crates over there' she responded as she kept rifling through the paintings nearby.

'Here's one' Neal said as he pulled a painting out of a crate. It was a piece called 'At the Piano' which Edelfelt had painted in 1889. It was part of someone's private collection and had been lent to the Dahesh for the duration of the exhibition; Neal noticed that the crate had been shipped from Dubai. He carefully pulled it out of its packaging all the while trying to keep an eye on Alex. He could utter the takedown phrase at any moment but he wanted to wait until they had located the paintings and were on their way out. That way, they could also bring Hughie down and lean on him for information.

The second coveted piece was 'A Child's Funeral' and Neal had been going through the remaining crates for about a minute when a loud beep was heard coming from the entrance where the security system had been disabled – or so he thought. He gave Alex a cautious glance as the sound was heard once again and then a third time, intermittently every five or so seconds.

'Keep looking!' he said as he made his way back to their entrance point to figure out what had gone wrong

Neal pulled out his flashlight and began to examine the wires he'd just cut a few minutes before noticing the red wire, although cut through, was still connecting causing the disruptive noise. Damn it Caffrey, you're getting sloppy, he thought as he pulled the wire apart and ran back into the room.

'It's okay...' he began, suddenly realizing that he was standing alone

'Al..?' he said to no one there. He'd been careful not to say her name; he didn't want Peter on his case, wondering if Neal had been in collusion with the thief all along. He knew the Harvard crew was waiting nearby, hearing everything that was going on.

'Damn it' he said out loud 'She's gone' he said for Peter's benefit

'I'm going to have to go through with this' Neal continued as he began to search for the second painting, finally locating it.

Somehow Alex had found her way out, taking the first painting with her.

WCWCWC

'You went off script!' Shawn Sullivan was screaming as Neal entered the rented office with Hughie in tow

They had made their way back to their starting point and Neal was somehow not surprised to see Alex standing there with the stolen goods in her hand. She'd somehow managed to elude the takedown she knew was imminent by making her own getaway plans. Although Neal was pissed off that she'd pulled the wool over his eyes, he was nonetheless impressed at her creativity. She'd done what he couldn't or wouldn't do – she'd fulfilled her contract with the Sullivans _and_ managed to elude the FBI.

'Look, you wanted the painting, I got you the painting' Alex answered animatedly as she placed the stolen item in front of him 'Now, I'm leaving town'

Shawn Sullivan watched wide-eyed as she walked out of the small office in a huff, obviously anxious to get away as soon as possible. She smiled knowingly at Neal on her way out, slowing briefly to give him a small hug and winking at him, she turned to leave.

'What happened, Caffrey?' Sullivan said as Neal made his way further into the room

'There was a screw-up with the security system and when I came back into the room, she was gone' Neal explained, fully realizing that Alex had pulled one over on him

'Well, we're paying you to keep an eye on things – she could have left with that thing' he answered angrily

'I'd say, all in all, it was a successful foray, wouldn't you?' Neal asked, trying to put a positive spin on things and pointing to the two paintings nearby

Sullivan glared at him, unhappy that things hadn't gone according to plan, yet relieved that the heist had resulted in nabbing the two paintings they'd soon be fencing to waiting 'customers'.

Neal smiled nervously – this thing wasn't over yet.

TBC


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Peter and Neal sat at the kitchen table of the Caffrey home. It was late, well past everybody's bed time and they were discussing what had gone wrong with the takedown. Peter took a long slow pull of his beer and waited for Neal to answer his very pointed question. The agent was no fool and as soon as he'd heard that female voice as he sat in the van, he'd known who they were dealing with.

Neal looked uncomfortable, knowing he had to come clean and he put off the inevitable by taking a fortifying sip of his glass of wine.

'Yes' he answered simply

'I knew I recognized that voice!' said Peter, his voice triumphant

'Look, she came to me about a week ago and told me that the Sullivans had some evidence of her carrying out a heist in Miami. They used that as leverage to get her to do a job for them here in New York' Neal said, looking at Peter and noting the disappointment in his partner's eyes.

'And you didn't tell me' Peter stated, amplifying his dissatisfaction

Neal looked down, avoiding Peter's eyes.

'It's not that simple, Peter' Neal said, feeling like a child being chastised by his father

Peter waited for more of an explanation.

'She was desperate. At first, I didn't connect that she would be working for the Sullivans. She wanted my help in casing a target and working with her on a heist. I told her **no**, in no uncertain terms and when I finally found out that the mob family she was talking about was the Sullivans, I told her I was working the case and that she'd get caught if she went through with it' he said, his voice soft in the quiet house

'So you gave her a heads up. Why didn't you tell me?' Peter re-stated

'Peter... I know it's hard for you to understand but just like the FBI has a code of ethics, thieves have a code of honor too. Alex and I have a history... I didn't want her... I just ... I wanted to make the bust but try to keep her out of it'

'So you _let_ her sneak out?' Peter asked, hoping he was wrong

'NO!' Neal said loudly as he heard his voice echoing in the empty kitchen 'You have to believe me, I had already made up my mind that I wasn't going to do anything to help her'

He thought back to the situation with Liam which, for him, had been a defining moment and as far as the Alex situation was concerned, a turning point. Maybe if he explained what had happened with Liam, Peter would understand where he was coming from.

'Look, Peter, I had to have a talk with Liam this week about... my past' Neal said, himself looking like a lost little boy

Peter looked on, suddenly sensing the emotion in Neal's voice.

'Some kid at preschool told him I was a bad person and that I'd been to jail and Liam punched the kid' Neal explained

Peter couldn't help a small smile at the combativeness of his nephew in his desire to defend his father's honor.

'So, I had to give him an abridged version of my criminal past' Neal continued, looking so sad

Peter could see that having to come clean to his little boy had been hard on Neal and suddenly, he wasn't quite so angry at his partner's deception.

'... and I realized more than ever that my family's the most important thing in the world to me. I wasn't about to do anything illegal just for the sake of some relationship that means absolutely nothing to me'

He looked up to see Peter's reaction, noting a softening of his features as the agent took another sip of beer.

'...but Peter, it was one thing not to help her out but I just couldn't turn her in' he continued, still obviously distressed at what had happened and his inadvertent role in helping Alex escape

'You do know, this is obstruction of justice' Peter said in his most official voice

Neal nodded. Of course he knew. But he'd been walking a fine line and he felt he'd done the best he could in the situation.

'So tell me what happened' Peter asked, obviously open to hearing the rest of the saga

'We'd just started to look around the prep area when something went wrong with the security system so I left to check it out' Neal said

Peter listened intently. He could attest to that fact; he'd heard it all through the listening device Neal was wearing.

'When I got back, I realized she'd made a run for it. She was back at the meeting point before I even got there – and she was carrying one of the paintings, fulfilling her contract with the Sullivans. She left and I don't think she's coming back'

Peter ran his hands through his hair, frustrated at the botched takedown yet beginning to understand what had happened and why.

'So, we're going to have to do it all over again' he said

Neal nodded.

'Regretfully' he said, in agreement 'They're targeting the Brooklyn Museum tomorrow night and they've got me working with another guy, name of Eccles. I don't know his first name'

'And you don't have any allegiances with this Eccles guy, do you?' Peter asked in jest

Neal rolled his eyes at Peter's poor attempt at humor.

'Alright, then. Get some sleep' Peter said as he stood to leave

Neal walked Peter to the door, looking totally spent both physically and emotionally.

'Look, Peter, I know you're disappointed in me. But I did what I thought was best for everyone involved' he said

Peter placed a hand on Neal's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. 'I know buddy, I know'

WCWCWC

'Neal, it scares me that you have to do this all over again' Sara said as they lay in bed the next morning

He had filled her in on the events of the previous night, leaving nothing out. No more deceptions, he thought, as he held her close.

'I know... but I don't regret what I did. It wouldn't have felt right telling Peter about Alex's involvement before the op' he said, still trying to convince himself

Even after all this time, Sara knew that Neal still struggled with doing the _legal _thing although she knew he always tried to do the _right_ thing. Neal leaned over and grabbed the small origami flower he'd found in his jacket pocket before going to bed.

'What's that?' Sara asked

'A little goodbye note from Alex' Neal answered

He opened it, showing his wife the message she'd scribbled inside before sneaking it into his jacket as she left.

'Good luck with your new life, Caffrey' she'd written

WCWCWC

Friday morning, a snow storm hit and the kids in Mrs Hines' class were anxious to go out and play in the fluffy white stuff. It had taken a while for the seasoned teacher to calm the group of eight year-olds down but she'd managed to do so with the promise of some free time later in the day if they worked hard concentrating on the imminent math test.

The classroom was quiet except for the sound of HB pencils gliding swiftly on test papers – and this time, Hope Caffrey's pencil was a willing participant in the muted symphony. Hope jotted down one answer after another, feeling confident of her responses. She gave Olivia Mason a furtive look and a small smile as her friend looked on in relief that Hope was looking so sure of herself.

Mrs Hines circulated in the classroom as she always did during tests, checking that everything was on the up and up. She glanced at Hope's test paper as she walked by, noticing the young girl's correct answers and smiling to herself. Hope had worked hard to get to this point and Mrs Hines had taken advantage of the two weeks the little girl had stayed late after school to give her some extra tutoring, just to make sure she was up to the task. She was pleased that Hope had risen to the occasion; she always shared in her students' successes.

The test papers were passed up and Hope let out a long sigh of relief.

Art show, here I come, she thought.

WCWCWC

Friday night brought with it even more snow. The illicit foursome stood in the same place they'd been in twenty four hours before, only this time Alex was nowhere to be seen, replaced by the newbie and this time, they were all studying plans for the Brooklyn Museum's holding room.

'And what kind of alarm system do they have for the back room?' Neal asked, hoping for a chance to improve on the previous evening's poor showing

'Same as the Dahesh' Shawn Sullivan answered 'So don't mess it up this time'

Neal stared at the mob boss, feeling slightly annoyed – this is why he never liked working for anyone in the past. At least when you worked alone, there was no one to give you grief – you only had yourself to blame. Neal suddenly wanted this whole operation to be over and done with. The whole situation with Alex had added much too much drama to what should have been a very simple takedown and he looked forward to wiping that smug grin off Shawn Sullivan's face.

'Yes sir' he answered with his patented Caffrey smile

WCWCWC

The takedown had been casebook perfect. The three men – including Neal – were arrested and brought in for questioning. Neal was relieved to have it all behind him and he was especially proud to have broken his record at disarming the security system, having gotten the job done in a mere 22 seconds, his all-time record.

Hughie had been a long-standing employee of the Sullivan family and was a little tougher to crack but Eccles had sung like a bird, giving details as to who had hired him and proof of the mob family's involvement. It turned out that Joe Eccles was a very suspicious and manipulative man and he'd taped all his conversations with the Sullivans, agreeing to share them with the FBI on the promise of immunity. When Hughie heard, he'd also caved, his fear of the long arm of the law apparently greater than his dread of the Sullivans' wrath. The DOJ was happy to take over; now that they had something on the Sullivans, they could begin their investigation into the family's business.

All in all, everyone agreed it was a most satisfactory outcome and Neal and Peter returned home to their lives and their families, not a moment too soon.

WCWCWC

With the case finally behind them, Neal looked forward to a nice, quiet, 'normal' weekend with his family. Christmas was just a couple of weeks away and he happily spent the whole day Saturday working on bringing his vision to life for the Christmas decorating contest on Meadowbrook Street. Liam and Hope acted as gophers fetching everything Neal needed to make their house the most beautifully decorated one on their small street. For her part, Sara watched in utter amazement, taking in 'domestic Neal Caffrey' as he did his suburban thing. The kids were exhausted by the end of the day and both fell asleep during the movie they'd all snuggled up to watch and Neal and Sara sat, content on the couch in the family room as they watched their offspring snoozing nearby.

On Sunday, the Burkes had them all over for dinner and Peter seemed to have forgiven Neal's indiscretion, welcoming him with a nice firm hug before grabbing Hope, his beloved goddaughter, swinging her playfully in the air and delighting in her giggles only to turn around and do the same thing to little Liam.

Neal noticed that Elizabeth was looking much more relaxed than the last time he'd seen her. Although Peter hadn't said anything to him about El's situation, Neal surmised that they had somehow worked it out and that she had come clean with her husband. His suspicions were confirmed over dinner when El shared with everyone that she had hired a new financial whiz to help out with the business. She was also visibly relieved to announce that Stephanie Harris' husband had gotten a job out of state and that Stephanie would be leaving Burke Premiere Events. Neal knew that the inevitability of having to fire one of her esteemed staff had been weighing heavily on El's mind although she'd known for awhile that someone would have to go in order to re-establish a financial balance for the company.

Mozzie had also been invited and Neal observed the way in which El fussed over their mutual friend; she was obviously very thankful for the all-important role he'd played in getting her out of the mess she'd been in.

Everyone was in fine spirits, it seemed. Neal looked over at his wife, sitting there looking so beautiful and he slid his hand under the dining room table to squeeze hers. She gave him a warm, loving smile in return and he couldn't help but wonder, once again, what she was up to on her mysterious Tuesday night outings. He'd begun to think, as Christmas drew nearer, that she might be working on some sort of Christmas gift for him; after his aborted little venture at sussing her out, he'd decided to leave it alone although the 'not knowing' was driving him nuts.

Oh Neal Caffrey, if you only knew.

WCWCWC

'I did it, I did it!' Hope screamed as she ran into the house, finding her parents and little brother already at the kitchen table, preparing to eat. She'd gone over to Olivia's after school and had made her way home just in time for dinner. She was holding her test paper up over her head, happily waving it in the air as she ran in to show her proud parents.

'A 91! That's amazing!' said Sara as she took the paper from her daughter's hands to examine it, finally relinquishing it to Neal who sat there with a huge smile on his face

'Now, I can be in the art show. Mrs Hines said that this gives me a passing grade!' Hope announced, hopping around from one foot to the other unable to hide her excitement

'First of all, get those wet boots off your feet' said Sara in her usual gruff manner 'Oh, never mind, come here!' she said, opening her arms to give her daughter a big hug

'_Now_, get those boots off your feet' she said again redirecting her back to the front of the house

Hope danced all the way, removing her coat and boots as she went and returning to her dad's open arms.

'I'm so proud of you, sweet pea' he announced, squeezing her tight

'This means you _know you _can get a 91 when you really try!' said Sara, teasingly

Hope glanced at her with a look of concern. She'd unknowingly just upped the ante.

TBC


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Christmas had been hectic, what with the kids home from school, the craziness of gift-giving, dinners out and having the gang over for Christmas Eve dinner. The Caffreys had finally been enjoying a couple of days of down time when the invitation came from the Burkes for the kids to visit for a sleepover. Unbeknownst to Neal, this was a carefully orchestrated ruse cooked up by Sara and Elizabeth so that Mrs Caffrey could finally show Mr Caffrey what she'd been learning on Tuesday nights for the past month. He drew the short straw and drove the kids out to Brooklyn, stopping to pick up a nice bottle of wine on the way back – it would be great to settle on the couch with Sara and watch that 'Ocean's Eleven' trilogy which was playing on channel 2, he thought as he drove back.

The drive to and from would take a couple of hours, considering El was primed to insist that Neal have a piece of pie before he hit the road – and Sara got to work getting things ready for their private little party. There was the bedroom to set up – the stage for her little performance - and then there was the matter of transforming herself from plain old mother of two to sexy vixen. The call came at 8:13, informing Sara that Neal was on his way back and she scurried with the last of the preparations, checking the bedroom to make sure everything was in place for Neal's imminent return.

She could feel butterflies beginning to flutter in her stomach, a testament to the nerves she was feeling at the little performance she was about to give. Sandie, her instructor, had commented on her suppleness and flexibility throughout the four week course and Sara had felt plenty confident while she was surrounded by a bunch of middle-aged women gyrating to the music as she was. But this was different.

This was pole dancing with 'intent'; the intent to seduce her gorgeous husband and make him lose command of his mind and relinquish control of his body. Suddenly, she wasn't so sure she was up to the task.

She thought back to that night a few weeks before when they'd gone out to dinner with Peter and Elizabeth and how, after plenty of good Italian red, she'd spontaneously given Neal the one and only strip tease show she ever expected to give him in her lifetime. He'd responded most favorably and she remembered the look of sheer lust and desire dancing in his eyes as he'd finally just grabbed for her, pulling her onto the bed and giving way to his unrestrained impulses.

She could do it again – after all, Neal was always up for new adventures!

She gave herself one last check in the mirror: black leather bustier making her burst out in all the right places, sheer black stockings and leather garter belt (no panties), stiletto heels, hair mussed (on purpose for a change), make-up a little messy. Not bad for a 40 year old, she thought.

Neal didn't know what he was in for.

She had thought long and hard about the choice of music for the occasion. They'd used a lot of different tunes in class – some of which left little to the imagination – and she'd gone back and forth with the mood she wanted to create (Fun? Light? Coy? Flirtatious? Sensuous?) She didn't want anything that would require her to move too fast – after all, she wasn't used to doing her thing in four inch stilettos. She'd finally settled on an obvious choice: 'Sexual Healing' by Marvin Gaye; that way, she could work it nice and slow and let the suggestive lyrics help her along with her seduction.

She heard the front door open downstairs and suddenly, this all seemed like a really bad idea.

'Sara!' Neal called from downstairs

'Sara?' he repeated after a few seconds of silence

'Up here!' she finally responded from behind the bathroom door, her unusual yet very sexy reflection staring back at her from the bathroom mirror

She wanted to wait and make an entrance once Neal was settled on the bed and she had set the scene accordingly - their bedroom dimly lit, her pole securely mounted right within his sight line, music playing softly in the background. She'd left a note on his pillow that said simply: 'Get comfortable and prepare for the ride of our life' along with a lipstick kiss as a signature.

'I thought we were going to watch a movie' she heard him mumble as he trudged up the stairs

She listened through the door as he made his way into their bedroom, his footsteps slowing as he took in the unexpected scene: candles burning everywhere, bed turned down, ready for action.

Neal smiled as he read the note; leave it to Sara to surprise him. He did as he was told, removing his shoes, socks, shirt and pants, all the while smiling a very wicked smile in anticipation of what would be happening around that pole, so prominently displayed in the middle of the room. He kept his boxers on, a modicum of modesty, and lay on his back, hand behind his head, waiting for the show to begin, something he hoped would be happening really soon.

'I did what you asked' he finally called out coyly as he stretched out on the bed

He heard the bathroom door open and suddenly caught sight of the extremely sexy woman who sashayed leisurely and self-assuredly into the room, wrapped in buttery leather. He let out a nervous giggle as he recognized the song that was playing, staring as Sara winked at him and made her way over to the pole as she prepared to give her little performance.

'So, _this_ is what you've been doing on Tuesday nights' he stated more than asked, a very naughty smile on his face as he sat up momentarily to get a better look at her

She blew him a slow, sensuous kiss as she began to move slowly towards the pole, finally running her leg suggestively around it, swaying to the rhythm of the music. Within seconds, Neal's face was flushed and had gone from amused to serious; his eyes darkening as his pupils dilated in response to what his eyes were taking in. She bent forward deviously, letting her breasts push up against the tight bustier, noticing that the arousal she could see in his eyes was already making its way down his body and she grinned in satisfaction at the promising response she was getting.

Neal's eyes continued to gawk as she turned her back to him, crouching down and revealing that the garter she wore was draped snugly around her naked thighs and buttocks. Neal seemed to be going from 0 to 60 in record time and his hand moved down his body to adjust himself in his boxers.

'Ah, ah, ah! No touching!' she admonished as she noticed his hand preparing to move

He glared at her with a look of frustration but he obeyed, returning his hand behind his head as he kept staring, watching her dance languidly and make use of that pole in some of the most creative and indecent ways he could possibly imagine. Marvin Gaye continued to make lewd suggestions in Neal's ear and his body was totally on board although Sara was keeping him a bay, just beyond his reach.

She looked over at her husband of eight years and was delighted at what she saw there: total abandonment, his body eagerly giving in to its impulses, obviously starting to lose control as he began to squirm uncontrollably on the bed in blissful anticipation.

'This song is _way_ too long' he muttered as he finally sat up, impatient, and made a grab for her

She manoeuvred quickly to avoid his clutches and he let out a soft moan, falling back on the bed with that same sexy smile still plastered on his face. Two could play this game, he thought.

'It's on a loop' she responded, her voice sultry, as the song started up again and Neal let out a loud groan this time – as good as this was, he wanted to get down to it and he finally stood and made his way to where his wife was wrapped around the pole, moving her body up and down in a most seductive manner.

She put her hand up to stop him and he slowed for an instant.

'Are you sure you _deserve_ to touch me?' she asked provocatively as Neal bit his bottom lip in a failed attempt to control his impulses

'Yesss' he said with a hiss, his arms reaching out 'I'm sure'

'Ah, ah, ah!' Sara warned again, avoiding his touch once more, although now she was finding him more difficult to resist; she was more than ready to give in to his advances but she wanted to keep him lingering just a little bit longer.

He stared at her, barely controlling himself yet enjoying the game of cat and mouse; he was feeling increasingly desperate although he _was_ enjoying the prolonged foreplay - as long as this all ended with his body plastered against hers.

She looked at Neal, her eyes hooded as she began to realize she was losing the battle with her own impulses – her body seemingly having worked its magic as far as her husband was concerned. Marvin kept singing – something about losing control...

'First, you have to help me get out of these' she whispered seductively, wanting to prolong the game a little longer

He nodded as he finally reached her, his arms slipping around her waist as he tried to figure out how the hell that very sexy contraption worked. He found the laces of the bustier at the back of the garment and moved to stand behind her, pressing himself insistently against her body – a promise of what was to come – and he slowly began to loosen the laces which were keeping her breasts restrained, working very hard to keep his breathing in check. He worked earnestly, his touch lingering and his lips placing languid kisses on Sara's back with each and every lace he managed to unfasten. Once loosened, Neal reached around, removing the bustier and letting it fall to the ground as he reached for Sara's breasts, finally free from the contraption. She let out a long, unsteady sigh of appreciation, her head falling back against Neal's shoulder with a shudder as his hands cupped her breasts, his fingers expertly squeezing and pinching in all the right places, his body still firmly pressed into hers.

Neal could hear Sara's breathing becoming ragged in response to his rough touch and he stopped momentarily, smiling deviously as he moved his hands down to explore the garter belt fastened snugly against her hips. As he let his hands slide down, he heard a small noise escape Sara's lips – a sound he recognized as disappointment at the sudden loss of sensation but despite her obvious displeasure, he continued, resting his hands on the edge of the garter and noticing it was fastened by a few hooks on the left side. He'd begun to unfasten them when Sara, regaining her composure, took his hands and moved them even lower to the top of her stockings, urging him silently to begin by removing her shoes and hosiery.

Neal moved to stand in front of her, eyes darting from her smoky eyes to her full mouth and down to her luscious breasts as he licked his lips and let out a long slow breath in an attempt to steady himself. Sara took a few steps towards the bed, putting her left foot up against the edge as Neal's hands moved leisurely all the way down her leg to her shoe, removing it slowly before starting back up to unfasten the stocking from her garter and begin to roll it down her long, lean leg.

As his hand moved slowly and deliberately up her leg to reach the edge of the stocking, he took a naughty little detour, letting his fingers linger momentarily between her legs, a move that Sara hadn't anticipated and that drew out a soft whimper as she spoke.

'Don't' she warned, breathless, although the lack of sincerity in her voice was apparent to them both

He leaned down, placing a soft, lingering kiss on the inside of her thigh before reaching for her other leg and doing it all over again, slowly, purposefully as she began to arch more urgently into his insistent touch.

She knew that she would not be able to resist him much longer, her body now fighting a losing battle and she wrapped her arms snugly around Neal's neck, reaching around and running her fingers through his thick hair while he removed the second stocking, stopping momentarily to drop his boxers and let them fall to the ground. His arms moved around her waist as he pulled her in close, his lips more insistent now, settling in the crook of her neck just under her earlobe, his breathing faltering and unsteady.

'You are so hot' he whispered against her neck, causing her to shiver

Suddenly she needed to get horizontal in the worse way and she pulled Neal down onto her, the garter still hanging from her small frame as they both dropped onto the bed, giggling.

As they fell together in a tangle of limbs, Neal realized that this was the kind of secret he could handle any day of the week.

La fin


End file.
